United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for broad, global controls over Artificial Intelligence. Speaking at a conference in Geneva on Monday, he cautioned against the use of increasingly powerful AI chips-which were initially designed for civilian purposes-on battlefields, where “killer robots” are becoming normalized. He also stressed the necessity of providing better access to this revolutionary technology for the billions of people currently left out of it.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock of the Greens party, echoed these concerns, urging collective measures to combat the “dire applications” of AI. She pointed out that 99 percent of reported sexual deepfakes primarily target women and girls, according to her data.
According to Guterres, further priorities for global regulation must include guaranteeing access to self-learning technology for developing countries and ensuring that all AI data centers run on renewable energy by 2030. While AI is central to humanity’s future, he asserted that machines can only provide information; humans must retain the power to decide and respond. He concluded by warning that this technology carries both beneficial and detrimental consequences for society and the economy.
