United Nations (EFE).- The United Kingdom will bring artificial intelligence (AI) to the UN Security Council in a specific session this month, in which it holds the rotating presidency, the British ambassador to the UN explained on Monday, Barbara Woodward.
The Secretary of the Foreign Office (Foreign Minister), James Cleverly, will preside over that session, scheduled for the 18th with the title “Maintenance of international peace and security: artificial intelligence”, and it is not ruled out that other ministers from countries allies also attend, the diplomat said.
AI experts are invited that the ambassador did not specify, but insisted that her country wants civil society to be associated with this debate, which for the first time specifically reaches the Security Council.
The diplomat recalled that her country is already going to organize before the end of the year -the date is still unknown- the first world summit in London on AI and security, as announced on June 8 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in what which looks like a British attempt to lead the world debate on the issue.
Woodward said AI presents “huge potential” to, for example, bridge development gaps between countries, but at the same time “great risks” of it being used in the management of conventional or even nuclear weapons.
For this reason, it is important that the future of AI, which “evolves at full speed”, be addressed multilaterally and not left to the chance of each State, as is the proposal -recalled the ambassador- of the UN Secretary General , Antonio Guterres.
Debates around artificial intelligence
On whether the United Kingdom advocates a “global regulatory framework” or rather an international body to oversee it, he said that it is unknown at the moment what may be the most effective step, and therefore the need to address it without further delay.
Other debates that the United Kingdom has scheduled this month are about the war in Ukraine, which is scheduled in this case for the 17th and also with the assistance of Cleverly; precisely on the eve of the expiration of the current extension of the so-called “Black Sea grain agreement” on the 18th, about which Woodward was pessimistic.
The ambassador criticized Russia’s attitude of threatening to torpedo the grain agreement every time its expiration approaches, which inevitably leads to tensions in the market that drive up prices, when the agreement was signed precisely to control this spiral of prices .
During the UK presidency, the Council will also deal with the war in Sudan, the renewal of steps for humanitarian aid in Syria, the situation in Haiti and the possible formation of an international force for that country, among other issues.
Woodward said that his country also wants to address the reform of the Security Council and repeated the British position of making India, Brazil, Germany and Japan permanent members, in addition to an African country “that is the responsibility of appointing the Africans”, but acknowledged that This debate is very open and with very distant positions.