International Artificial Intelligence and Governance Forum 2022

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Excellencies, Distinguished participants, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to address this year’s International AI Cooperation and Governance Forum, at a critical moment in our advances in AI technologies.

The world continues to face enormous global challenges. From the lingering socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the climate emergency; from the rising cost of living to increased global conflicts, we are living in increasingly uncertain times that threaten to undermine human development and jeopardize achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Against this backdrop, AI has the potential to create enormous benefits for people and the planet, allowing us to be much more efficient in addressing these global challenges. AI has the potential to increase both the access to and quality of health care, to provide tools to fight hunger, to expand into new frontiers of economic development, and to tackle climate change. These are just some of the many promising avenues AI offers to accelerate sustainable development around the world. 

At the same time, like any new and rapidly developing technology, AI poses some risks. These include diminished privacy, less human agency and accountability, widening income inequality, and the potential for reduced employment opportunities.

Given AI’s transformative potential, it is critical that we consider both the opportunities and risks it presents to ensure that we build a more resilient future for all.

The development of an international governance structure for AI is imperative. Without proper governance, AI has to potential to create negative, real-world consequences. Issues concerning ethics, misinformation, data privacy, access to the internet, and the potential for algorithmic bias, could widen existing gaps and must be addressed.

Digital technologies, including AI, do offer new means to exercise human rights, but are too often used to violate human rights. Regulatory frameworks and governance on their development and use must have universal human rights at their centre.

An international AI governance framework is especially important, given that this technology transcends national borders and is being applied in diverse contexts. International cooperation and consensus on the standardization of AI ethics and regulations are critical to ensure a secure and stable global landscape that is inclusive and connected, and that resists expanding digital fragmentation between countries.

To this end, the Secretary-General has proposed that a Global Digital Compact be agreed on by governments at the UN Summit of the Future in 2024. This Compact will enable the international community to come together and build a digital future that is open, free, secure, and inclusive, and that includes regulation of AI to ensure that it is aligned with shared global values.

It will be critical for the voices of developing countries to be amplified in these global discussions. Many developing countries have made serious commitments to developing their AI capabilities, given their great potential in areas like education, healthcare and economic development.

However, most developing countries are largely absent in many prominent forums driving forward the conversation on AI. If AI is to support human development, it must be inclusive. This inclusivity implies not only ensuring voices from a diverse set of countries are heard, but also the involvement of stakeholders directly working on and with AI. Technology companies, civil society, academia and others need to have a seat at the table and to buy into the agreements of the Global Digital Compact to achieve the ambitions set forth in the announcement of its development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Digital technologies are advancing at an unprecedented speed, and discussions on how to govern these advances have not kept pace. This creates risk for the development of fragmented and conflicting policies for industries, governments and individuals, and we must work to ensure this does not happen.

AI governance must rapidly advance beyond discussions to the development of relevant normative frameworks that see an innovative, multilateral, multistakeholder and multidisciplinary approach to match the crosscutting nature of AI itself.

Forums like this one serve as a critical platform for experts and thinkers from international organizations, governments, the private sector, and academia, from around the world, to identify and discuss current trends, opportunities, and challenges in constructing a resilient global AI governance framework.

As Mr. António Guterres, the Secretary-General, said earlier this year, “We must seize the moment, in partnership, to deliver on the promise of technological advances and harness them for the common good.”

The UN will continue to play a convening role in fostering dialogue to develop normative frameworks for AI governance and to advance international and multistakeholder cooperation in its development and implementation. We must ensure we take advantage of the potential AI creates while mitigating the risks it presents.

We must guarantee that AI systems are ethical and fair, balancing innovation with the responsibility to protect people and planet. We urge all key stakeholders to join in pushing forward concrete action to realize a resilient and human-centred future.

I wish this forum great success in advancing these discussions. Thank you.