World leaders weigh AI worries, regulations
AI leaders are due to brief the UN Security Council at an emergency session later today. The meeting comes after weeks of warnings about the potentially uncontrollable risks posed by artificial intelligence. Delano D’Souza reports.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to undergo reform, emphasizing the pressing nature of such changes in the current geopolitical climate. The UNSC, composed of 15 members, includes five permanent powers—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten rotating members elected by the General Assembly.
These permanent members possess veto rights, often obstructing the resolution of conflicts due to disagreements among them.
During the second day of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the focus shifted to various pressing global issues. In an emergency meeting, tech industry leaders such as Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), and Clement Delangue (Hugging Face) joined the Security Council to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence (AI). Amidst concerns over the rapid advancement of AI, there were calls to slow down its development to prevent potential catastrophic consequences.
Addressing the US-Israeli conflict in Iran, US President Donald Trump expressed skepticism towards efforts to regulate AI, dismissing it as a part of a globalist plot. In his speech at the General Assembly, Trump threatened Iran with annihilation and threatened to drive its people to hell. In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made his first appearance before the world leaders since the war began in February.
The ongoing conflict in Iran continued to impact neighboring countries militarily and economically. Despite ongoing negotiations, a peace deal remained elusive, and the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted. Discussions at the UNGA also centered around Russia's four-and-a-half-year-long assault on Ukraine, with a Security Council session scheduled for the morning and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to address the General Assembly in the afternoon.
Climate change emerged as a critical issue on the agenda, with outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticizing fossil fuel companies for treating the Earth's atmosphere like an "open sewer." He further chastised the industry for its greed as the world grapples with armed conflicts. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, five major Western oil companies amassed nearly half a trillion dollars in profits, while only $34 billion had been invested in helping developing nations adapt to a warming world.
Throughout the event, world leaders engaged in diplomatic talks surrounding AI, the Iran conflict, the Ukraine war, and the urgent need for climate action.
Written by urgent.news from DW English (Top Stories)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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