NEW YORK, Sept 22 — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a more responsible approach to artificial intelligence, strongly warning against the development of lethal autonomous weapons during a speech at the UN headquarters.
Addressing world leaders at the opening of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, Guterres emphasized the imperative need for human control over life-and-death decisions.
“Life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines,” Guterres warned, emphasizing that “killer robots must have no place in our future.”
While acknowledging that artificial intelligence holds significant potential to advance science and medicine, the UN chief criticized the lack of adequate governance, opaque decision-making, and absence of regulatory oversight currently surrounding the technology.
“The danger is not technology,” Guterres noted. “The danger is technology without accountability.”
To address these risks, Guterres urged nations with advanced artificial intelligence capabilities to collaborate on establishing global safety standards, improving transparency regarding technological risks, and creating independent international oversight frameworks.
Turning to regional instability, the UN chief also urged global powers to bring an end to ongoing hostilities in West Asia, criticizing temporary truces that fail to protect vulnerable populations.
“So-called ceasefires have amounted to little more than ‘lesser fire’ – with civilians continuing to pay the price,” Guterres said. “Enough is enough.”
–NMT
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