Secretary-General Guterres calls for global coordination on AI risks at UN General Assembly, calls for framework building amid US-China conflict

[New York Current Affairs] This year's General Debate Address at the United Nations General Assembly, which began on the 22nd, began with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal that "global coordination is essential" to deal with the risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Leaders of various countries expressed a sense of crisis one after another in their speeches, and AI became one of the main themes at high-level meetings and side events during the period.

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However, the United States, which is ahead of the pack in development, remains firmly opposed to uniform regulations. Amidst calls for the creation of international standards for crisis management, dark clouds loom over the future.

Guterres emphasized that there is only one place where all countries have a voice, and called for efforts to build a multilateral AI risk management framework at the United Nations. Last year, the United Nations established an independent panel of experts to report on the potential and risks of AI. In July of this year, the first meeting aimed at creating international rules was held in Geneva. The role of the United Nations is to provide information and a forum for dialogue, and to encourage discussion.

In his general debate speech on the 22nd, US President Trump asserted, ``I completely reject any attempt to create a globalist framework to regulate AI.'' Last year, China showed a certain degree of cooperation, saying that it "supports the role of the United Nations as a major channel in international AI governance" (Vice Foreign Minister Ma Chao-xu), but it is said that China is aiming to standardize its own standards internationally without waiting for discussions at the United Nations regarding safety standards.

France's position regarding AI is that ``the United States and China are not the only ones responsible for decision-making'' (President Macron). As the country's chairman of the Security Council, a meeting on AI was held on the 23rd. OpenAI CEO Altman and others, who agree with the theory of slowing down development, were invited to give the opening presentation.

The highlight of the discussion on AI was the US-China summit meeting on the 24th. Guterres pointed out that ``during the Cold War, rivals recognized the need for risk management,'' referring to the United States and the Soviet Union in nuclear arms control. Altman also told the Security Council, ``There was a time when competing countries cooperated in the face of powerful new technologies for common interests and the common good,'' adding, ``That must be the case this time as well.''