Guterres warns rapid advances in artificial intelligence demand stronger international governance….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Warning that artificial intelligence is advancing at an unprecedented pace, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for urgent international cooperation to ensure humanity remains in control of the technology rather than being shaped by it.
Addressing the opening of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Guterres posed what he described as a defining question for the future: “Will humanity shape this transformation together — or let it shape us?”
He said the meeting marks a significant milestone in global AI governance by bringing together governments, technology companies and experts, with every country represented in discussions on the future of artificial intelligence.
“Some lines, once crossed, cannot be uncrossed,” Guterres cautioned, stressing the need for collective action before technological advances outpace regulatory frameworks.
The Secretary-General pointed to the findings of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI (IISPAI), whose preliminary report was released last week, outlining three major challenges posed by rapidly evolving AI systems.
The first, he said, is the extraordinary speed of AI adoption.
“The internet took 15 years to reach one billion people. AI reached that milestone in just two,” Guterres noted, adding that AI systems are increasingly capable of writing code, operating online and making decisions with diminishing levels of human oversight.
He warned that existing institutions are not yet equipped to deal with technologies capable of making autonomous decisions.
The second concern is the concentration of power.
According to Guterres, the computing resources, data and expertise needed to develop advanced AI systems remain concentrated among a small number of companies and countries, leaving much of the world with little influence over technologies that could shape their future.
He warned that if such imbalances become embedded in AI, inequality itself risks becoming part of the technology’s design.
The third challenge relates to misinformation and public trust.
Guterres said AI has reached a point where machine-generated falsehoods can appear as convincing as factual information, while authentic evidence can increasingly be dismissed as fabricated, posing a serious threat to the integrity of the global information ecosystem.
“The choice before us is not between faith in AI and fear of it,” he said. “It is between governing by design and drifting by default.”
Calling for shared responsibility, Guterres urged governments to act swiftly, technology companies to match their influence with accountability, and scientists to continue providing independent evidence to guide policymaking.
Earlier, UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gilldescribed the dialogue as a landmark moment in international efforts to govern transformative technologies.
He said the Global Digital Compact, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2024, together with the creation of the IISPAI, had established both an independent scientific body to assess AI’s risks and opportunities and a global forum where every government can participate in shaping AI governance.
The United Nations said the Geneva dialogue will focus on narrowing the global AI divide, strengthening international cooperation and enhancing human oversight to ensure AI systems remain safe, secure and accountable.
Addressing the gathering, President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock said the discussions go beyond regulating technology and are aimed at building a future where innovation advances alongside human dignity, equity and sustainable development.
