United Nations. Faced with the explosion of artificial intelligence, which arouses both enthusiasm and concern, the UN General Assembly called this Thursday for the creation of international “norms”, in the first resolution to be adopted on this delicate issue.
The text, prepared by the United States and co-sponsored by dozens of countries, was adopted by consensus after several months of negotiations.
The resolution, which excludes military AI, underlines “the need to establish standards that ensure that artificial intelligence systems are safe and reliable.”
The objective is to “promote, rather than hinder, digital transformation and equitable access to the benefits of these systems”, in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to guarantee a better future for all humanity. from now to 2030.
“Today we find ourselves at a turning point. Artificial intelligence poses universal existential challenges,” said the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, promoter of the text.
Threats and opportunities
The text highlights the threats posed by technologies designed or used “for wrong purposes or with the intention of causing harm.”
The appearance at the end of 2022 of ChatGPT, from the Californian company OpenAI, capable of writing dissertations, poems or making translations in seconds, gives attempts to regulate AI a new dimension.
This system revealed the enormous potential of AI, but also exposed its risks for democracy, in a year in which half of the world will elect its leaders, or for the dissemination of false photographs or videos that can manipulate public opinion and ruin people’s lives.
Therefore, the text recognizes that, without “safeguards”, AI risks undermining human rights, reinforcing prejudice and discrimination and endangering the protection of personal data.
In this regard, it calls on all Member States and other interested parties to “refrain or stop using artificial intelligence systems that cannot be used in a manner that respects human rights or that present excessive risks to the exercise of human rights.”
The resolution focuses primarily on the potential benefits of AI for development, and claims to be “committed to bridging the digital divide” between and within countries.
In this sense, the US ambassador recalled that AI “also holds profound universal opportunities to accelerate our work to end poverty, save lives, protect our planet and create a safer and more equitable world.”
“Focusing on development is a deliberate effort by the United States to gain sympathy” from poor countries, he told the Afp Richard Gowan, analista del International Crisis Group.
It is “easier” than “addressing security issues head-on, for a first initiative,” he added.
Biases
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has made AI regulation one of his priorities, called for the creation of a UN entity modeled after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Regularly highlighting the threats posed by misinformation and prejudice, last week she warned of the “biases” of technologies designed mainly by men and that “ignore” the needs and rights of women.
“Male-dominated algorithms could literally program inequality into activities like urban planning, credit scoring, or medical imaging, for years,” he warned.
“I don’t think the United States wants to let Guterres lead this very delicate conversation, so it is intervening to shape the debate,” said Richard Gowan, alluding to a “race” led by several UN member states, including the United States. United, China and South Korea, to be at the forefront of this social issue.
In October, the White House had already unveiled rules and principles aimed at ensuring that the United States “leads the way” in regulating AI, and President Joe Biden insisted on the need to “govern” these technologies.
On March 13, the European Parliament approved the first law in the world to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the European Union.
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– 2024-04-08 11:13:04
