UN chief urges AI curbs in farewell assembly speech

Reuters reports that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his last speech to the General Assembly, delivered on Tuesday in New York, to press world leaders to regulate AI, end wars, prioritise climate change and overhaul the organisation's institutions. His second term as secretary-general ends on December 31. The speech came as the 15-member Security Council prepared to hear a briefing from AI leaders, and as nearly 130 leaders gathered, with Xi Jinping and some others absent.

On AI, Guterres repeated his call for global oversight of the risks. He said countries at the front of the technology should share information about emerging safety risks, cooperate on testing and evaluation, and work toward common safeguards. He asked leaders to lay the groundwork for pacing AI responsibly and to build a multilateral framework for managing its risks, with credible and independent oversight. Reuters adds that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington had proposed an AI safety notification mechanism for the two presidents to weigh at their summit that week, covering AI incidents with national security implications.

The report supplies background on earlier UN work, including mention that Guterres has long pushed for global AI governance. The UN set up an advisory body of 39 members on AI in 2023, the same year the Security Council first met on AI risks. Guterres also called for a two-state solution, said polluters must pay for climate change, urged de-escalation in the Middle East, and said mechanisms for collective action are strained and reflect a bygone age. He closed by pledging to keep championing peace after leaving office.