<\/p>\n
AI emerged as a leading issue during the UN General Assembly\u2019s High-Level Week, with governments debating innovation, regulation, security and equitable access.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is indeed a game changer, with enormous promise to advance medicine, accelerate scientific discovery, expand opportunity and improve lives,\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Guterres warned that technological development without effective oversight could cause serious harm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe danger is not technology. The danger is technology without accountability: capability without oversight, decision-making without transparency,\u201d Guterres said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said countries should not prevent innovation but needed safeguards grounded in scientific evidence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAI can be a powerful accelerator of human progress. Therefore, we must not close the door to innovation,\u201d Rahman said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Developing countries warned that AI could create another global divide if computing power, data, skills and decision-making remained concentrated in wealthier economies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
South Africa called for Africa to participate in AI research and governance, while India defended the right of each country to develop systems aligned with national priorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Global South cannot simply become a destination for data centres while decisions about AI are made elsewhere,\u201d Malaysia Foreign Minister Mohamad Haji Hasan said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
China called for a people-centred approach and wider sharing of technological benefits.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should develop AI for the positive and for good, narrow the digital divide and promote development that is universally beneficial,\u201d China Vice-President Han Zheng said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Several countries also raised concerns about cybersecurity, autonomous weapons, information integrity and the potential loss of human control.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Singapore proposed stronger international cooperation, including a possible UN framework convention and dedicated international AI institution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrkiye also supported an international legal framework, while the UK called for global principles and standards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The United States (US) cautioned against rules that could restrict growth and innovation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution,\u201d US President Donald Trump said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The UN has established an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guterres said independent oversight and a global risk-management framework were needed because AI presented opportunities and risks crossing national borders.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this affects us all, global coordination is indispensable,\u201d Guterres said.<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78],"class_list":["post-47009","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news-type-featured","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"World leaders have called for artificial intelligence (AI) to advance human development without widening inequality or concentrating technological power among a few countries and companies.","published_date":"","news_description":"World leaders have called for artificial intelligence (AI) to advance human development without widening inequality or concentrating technological power among a few countries and companies.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47010,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47009\/revisions\/47010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=47009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}