On Monday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, called for international rules on artificial intelligence (AI) to minimise the risks associated with it, during the first meeting of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva.
Among other things, Guterres wants an international pact for safe AI for children.
He fears that AI is evolving at breakneck speed, faster than humans can keep up with, and that this generation may well be the last able to regulate this form of technology.
"If AI is to be powerful, it must also be regulated," he stated.
He also highlighted the significant influence AI can have on areas such as the economy or elections. Furthermore, he is concerned about the growing tendency among AI users to blindly delegate more and more tasks to AI and to simply trust the results.
Guterres is particularly concerned about the impact of AI on children. "No child should be used as a guinea pig for unregulated AI," he declared, stating that no company should deploy an AI system accessible to young people without first testing its safety.
These companies should also remove all AI-generated child pornography images. In the event of signs of distress, the system should shut down and put the children in touch with real human support workers.
Finally, Guterres also wants to support developing countries in gaining access to artificial intelligence. To this end, he says he will table a proposal at the next UN General Assembly to establish a global fund.
