UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the meeting in the course of the World Economic Forum (WEF) assembly in Davos on January 17, 2024. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP by way of Getty Images)
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday known as on political and enterprise leaders to prioritize a global technique coping with the dual threats of artificial intelligence and the climate crisis.
In a particular handle on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Guterres warned that the fast improvement of AI may lead to “serious unintended consequences.”
“It’s good to be back and see Davos highlighting the global crisis in trust,” Guterres mentioned in his opening remarks.
“I believe this crisis is the direct result of a paradox facing our world. In the face of [a] series of existential threats, posed by runaway climate chaos and the runaway development of artificial intelligence without guardrails, we seem powerless to act together,” he added.
“Rebuilding Trust” is the overarching theme of the annual WEF assembly. WEF says this yr’s Davos program embodies a “back to basics” spirit of open and constructive dialogue between policymakers, enterprise leaders and civil society, with AI emerging as a major topic of discussion.
Advocates of AI say the know-how may be harnessed to profit humanity in a number of methods, together with fast-tracking affected person diagnoses, serving to to mannequin local weather change and preventing cyberattacks.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said that he believes there’s a want for global coordination on AI and for settlement on a set of requirements and acceptable guardrails for the know-how.
The U.S. tech big is a serious participant within the race to develop AI, pouring billions of dollars into OpenAI, the agency behind the favored chatbot ChatGPT.
“Every new interaction of generative AI increases the risk of serious unintended consequences. The technology has enormous potential for sustainable development, but as the International Monetary Fund has just warned us, it is very likely it will worsen inequality in the world,” Guterres mentioned.
The IMF said in a report out Sunday that just about 40% of jobs internationally could possibly be affected by the rise of AI. It additionally warned that the potential influence of the know-how on the global labor market is more likely to worsen total inequality typically.
“Some powerful tech companies are already pursuing profits with a clear disregard for human rights, personal privacy and social impact. This is no secret,” Guterres mentioned, with out naming any particular companies.
“These two issues, climate and AI, are exhaustively discussed by governments, by the media and by leaders here in Davos. And yet, we have not an effective global strategy to deal with either,” he mentioned.
“The reason is simple, geopolitical divides are preventing us from coming together around global solutions for global challenges. Little wonder that people everywhere are losing face in governments, institutions and financial and economic systems.”
— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report.