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Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US-led resolution, if adopted, would be the ‘first-ever standalone effort’ at the UN to establish global consensus on AI.
The US is leading a United Nations resolution to promote safe and trustworthy AI systems in a push to increase global regulation and sustainable development of the technology.
In a joint statement published yesterday (14 March), the US, along with 54 other countries and regions including Ireland, the UK, Germany, Canada, India, France, Australia and the EU, said that it has introduced a UN General Assembly resolution that aims to articulate a “shared approach” to AI systems.
“AI has enormous potential to shape our economies, societies and the world for the better,” the statement reads. “We must ensure these benefits extend across the globe to countries at all levels of development.”
“The resolution calls on member states to promote safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems to address the world’s greatest challenges, including those related to poverty elimination, global health, food security, climate, energy and education. We are resolved to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries through capacity building, increasing digital literacy and other actions.”
According to the US, consensus on the topic will help extend the benefits of AI to UN member states across all regions and levels of development.
The U.S., with dozens of cosponsors, has introduced a GA resolution on safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems for sustainable development.
If adopted, this would be the first-ever standalone effort at the @UN to establish global consensus on AI.https://t.co/iHdmiDHdKl
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) March 13, 2024
It will also establish a shared vision of AI systems as “human-centric, reliable, explainable, ethical, inclusive, privacy preserving and responsible” with a sustainable development orientation. It will also respect, promote and protect human rights and international law.
“As AI technologies rapidly develop, there is urgent need and unique opportunities for member states to meet this critical moment with collective action,” the statement goes on. “We have and will continue to engage with all stakeholders in this process, including members of the private sector, the technical community, civil society and academia.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said that if adopted, the latest resolution would be the “first-ever standalone effort” at the UN to establish global consensus on AI.
This push at the UN level comes in the same week at the EU finally adopted the AI Act in a landslide vote, marking an end to negotiations and hurdles since the legislation was first discussed in 2021.
The result means the EU will soon have arguably the most robust and detailed form of AI regulation in the world, in a bid to rein in the high-risk aspects of this evolving technology.
In simple terms, the AI Act will attempt to rein in AI technology while letting the EU benefit from its potential by creating a risk-based approach. If the type of AI technology is deemed to be high-risk, then the developers must follow stricter rules to prevent its abuse.
It will also prohibit certain uses of AI entirely such as the use of social scoring systems – which has become associated with the controversial social credit system in China (which did not back the latest US proposal).
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