CAN THE WORLD AGREE ON AI?
Apart from geopolitical conflicts, AI could provide another test of the UN’s ability to build global consensus.
UN member states adopted the Global Digital Compact in 2024, establishing a framework for international digital cooperation, including on AI governance.
“This is really making the UN ready for the 21st century, ready for emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and the digital world,” said Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, clinical professor at New York University’s Centre for Global Affairs.
In July, Geneva hosted the first UN Global Dialogue on AI governance, bringing together governments and other stakeholders to discuss issues including AI safety, accountability and human oversight.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that AI will be a major topic, calling for countries pushing its frontiers to set up “common guardrails in order to avoid this race to the bottom that could lead one day to a gigantic disaster at the global level”.
But reaching an agreement among the world’s leading AI powers remains difficult.
Trump on Sep 14 dismissed AI risks as a hoax, while saying China would benefit from the doubt cast on its development.
Murdoch University professor of human rights Simon Adams says the stakes could become particularly high as AI adoption accelerates.
“This is a huge issue,” he said.
“We’re now facing the prospect of literal killer robots, mechanisms making targeting decisions for drones, potentially autonomous weapons that could be killing human beings,” he added.
“These are issues crying out for international multilateral leadership, and the UN is really the only body with the convening power to make a real difference.”
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