United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday supported the proposal of several artificial intelligence executives, most notably OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to create a watchdog. International AI such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Innovative AI technology that can shoot authoritative prose from text prompts has captivated the public since ChatGPT launched six months ago and became the fastest growing app of all time. AI has also become the focus of concern over its ability to create deep fakes and other misinformation.
“The alarm bells about the latest form of artificial intelligence – Innovative AI – is jarring. And they’re the loudest from the developers who designed it,” Guterres told reporters. “We have to take those warnings seriously.”
He announced plans to start working later this year with a high-level AI advisory body to regularly review AI governance arrangements and make recommendations on how they might align with human rights. , the rule of law and the common good.
But on Monday, he added: “I’m very supportive of the idea that we could have an artificial intelligence agency… inspired by the international atomic energy agency today.”
Guterres said such a model could be “very exciting” but noted that “only member states could create it, not the UN Secretariat”. The Vienna-based IAEA was established in 1957 and promotes the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies while monitoring possible violations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty nuclear gas (NPT). It has 176 member countries.
ChatGPT creator and OpenAI CEO Altman said last month that an agency like the IAEA could place restrictions on implementation, check compliance with safety standards and track usage computing power.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also supported the idea and said he wanted the UK to become a global adopter of AI safety regulation. Britain is expected to host a summit later this year on how international coordinated action can address AI risks.
Guterres said he supported the plan to hold the summit in the UK, but said it should be done before “serious work”. He said he plans to appoint in the coming days a scientific advisory board consisting of AI experts and leading scientists from UN agencies.
