Fri Sep 20 11:45:00 UTC 2024: ## UN Body Calls for Global Collaboration on AI Governance
**New York, NY** – A United Nations advisory body on artificial intelligence (AI) is urging governments to work together to establish a global framework for governing the technology’s use. The UN’s High-level Advisory Body on AI, formed in October 2023, has published a report outlining its blueprint for addressing AI-related risks and ensuring the technology’s benefits are shared globally.
The report argues that the global nature of AI, from its development to its applications, necessitates a collaborative approach. “AI’s raw materials, from critical minerals to training data, are globally sourced,” the report states. “General-purpose AI, deployed across borders, spawns manifold applications globally.”
The advisory body warns that without proper governance, AI could concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few, with significant geopolitical and economic consequences. It also emphasizes the lack of understanding about AI’s inner workings and the potential for negative spillovers across the globe.
To address these concerns, the advisory body has made several recommendations, including:
* **Establishing an independent international scientific panel on AI**: This panel would be comprised of diverse experts serving in their personal capacity to provide technical guidance on AI governance.
* **Launching a bi-annual intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder policy dialogue**: This platform would foster dialogue on AI governance on the margins of existing UN meetings.
* **Creating an AI standards panel**: This panel would develop and maintain a register of definitions and standards for evaluating AI systems.
* **Establishing a global fund for AI**: This fund, managed by an independent governance structure, would aim to bridge the AI divide between countries.
* **Developing a global AI data framework**: This framework would create market-shaping mechanisms for data stewardship and exchange, fostering local AI ecosystems worldwide.
Wendy Hall, a regius professor of computer science at the University of Southampton and the only British expert on the Advisory Body, emphasizes the urgency of establishing global AI governance. “Artificial intelligence must be allowed to develop for the good of humanity,” she said, “but, without governance, it has potential to evolve in ways that would be harmful to society.”
The report acknowledges the existing efforts by governments and organizations to address AI governance, but highlights the lack of a truly global approach. It points out the concentration of decision-making power in a few countries, excluding many from participating in the conversation.
The advisory body proposes the creation of an AI office within the UN Secretariat to facilitate the implementation of its recommendations and foster global collaboration. The call for global action comes as concerns about AI’s unchecked development grow, with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres previously likening the unregulated growth of AI to the climate crisis.
The UN’s push for global AI governance aims to ensure that the technology benefits all of humanity, not just a select few, while mitigating its potential risks.
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