By Haruna Gimba
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres has called for democratising Artificial Intelligence (AI), warning that the “growing concentration of AI capabilities risks deepening geopolitical divides.”
AI is already transforming our world but its power rests “in the hands of a few,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Tuesday in Paris, in an appeal for countries to use the revolutionary technology together, “to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries – not widen it.”
“While some companies and countries are racing ahead with record investments, most developing nations find themselves left out in the cold,” he said at the AI Action Summit in Paris co-hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The power of AI carries immense responsibilities. Today, that power sits in the hands of a few. Let us move for an AI that is shaped by all of humanity, for all of humanity,” he said.
Guterres, who has made AI one of his priorities, called for giving the UN a central role in determining the future of AI, recalling the proposal in the Global Digital Compact adopted by world leaders at last year’s Summit of the Future.
The Compact suggested the creation of an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, and Guterres said it would be essential for ensuring that “technology serves humanity, not the other way around.”
“By pooling global expertise, this Scientific Panel will promote a common understanding of AI risks, benefits and capabilities, and help bridge knowledge gaps,” he said.
“AI must bridge the gap between developed and developing countries, not widen it,” Guterres said. For this, he said, a “global AI capacity-building network is an economic necessity and a moral imperative.”
That was one of the proposals made by the High-Level Advisory Body on AI.
“In what seems like the blink of an eye, AI has gone from the stuff of science fiction to a powerful force that is transforming our world,” but the world is not ready for it, he said.
While noting its positive breakthroughs in education, health and agriculture, he said it is “also testing our shared values and rights.”
“It is in all our interests for governments and technology leaders to commit to global guardrails, share best practices, and shape fair policy and business models,” he said.
With national leaders, tech CEOs and even Pharrell Williams looking on, the UN chief also called for clean energy solutions, as AI data centres already place “an unsustainable strain” on our planet.
“It is crucial to design AI algorithms and infrastructures that consume less energy and integrate AI into smart grids to optimise power use,” he insisted. “From data centres to training models, AI must run on sustainable energy so that it fuels a more sustainable future.”
The rapidly developing field of AI should help to accelerate universally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and not “entrench inequalities,” Mr Guterres said.
