Source: AFP
The United Nations General Assembly will turn its attention to artificial intelligence on Thursday, weighing a resolution setting out the pros and cons of the potentially transformative technology while calling for international standards.
The text, which is co-sponsored by dozens of countries, stresses the need for guidelines “to promote safe, secure and reliable artificial intelligence systems”, while excluding military artificial intelligence from its purview.
Overall, the resolution focuses more on the positive potential of technology and calls for special attention “to bridge artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries.”
The draft resolution, which is the first on the issue, was presented by the United States and will be submitted for approval by the assembly on Thursday.
It also seeks to “promote, not hinder, digital transformation and equitable access” to artificial intelligence in order to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to secure a better future for humanity by 2030.
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“As artificial intelligence technologies develop rapidly, there is an urgent need and unique opportunity for member states to address this critical moment with collective action,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, reading a joint statement by the dozens of co-sponsoring countries. .
According to Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, “the emphasis on development is a deliberate attempt by the US to win goodwill among poorer nations.”
“It’s easier to talk about how AI can help developing countries progress than to tackle safety and security issues head-on as a first initiative,” he said.
“Algorithms dominated by men”
The draft text highlights the threats of technology when it is misused to cause harm, and also recognizes that without safeguards, AI risks eroding human rights, reinforcing prejudices and compromising the protection of personal data.
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It therefore calls on member states and stakeholders to “refrain from or stop the use of artificial intelligence systems that are impossible to operate in accordance with international human rights law or that pose unreasonable risks to the enjoyment of human rights” .
Warnings against the technology are becoming more widespread, particularly when it comes to AI-powered tools and the dangers they pose to democracy and society, particularly through fake images and speeches shared in an attempt to interfere in elections.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has made the regulation of artificial intelligence a priority, calling for the creation of a UN entity modeled after other UN agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
She has regularly highlighted the potential for misinformation and last week warned of bias in technologies designed primarily by men, which can lead to algorithms that ignore the rights and needs of women.
“Male-dominated algorithms could literally program inequalities into activities from urban planning to credit ratings to medical imaging for years to come,” he said.
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The International Crisis Group’s Gowan said he “didn’t think the US wants Guterres to lead this conversation because it’s so sensitive” and therefore “is coming in to shape the conversation”.
A race is underway between various UN member states, the United States, China and South Korea, to be at the forefront of the issue.
In October, the White House unveiled rules intended to ensure the United States takes the lead in regulating artificial intelligence, with President Joe Biden insisting on the need to govern the technology.
Source: AFP