UNITED NATIONS — The General Assembly approved the first United Nations resolution on artificial intelligence Thursday, giving global support to an international effort to ensure the powerful new technology benefits all nations, respects human rights and is “safe, secure and trustworthy.”
The resolution “would represent global support for a baseline set of principles for the development and use of AI and would lay out a path to leverage AI systems for good while managing the risks,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press. It also recognizes that “the governance of artificial intelligence systems is an evolving area” that needs further discussions on possible governance approaches.
Countries around the world, including the U.S. and China, and the Group of 20 major industrialized nations are also moving to draw up AI regulations. The U.N. resolution takes note of other U.N. efforts including by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the International Telecommunication Union to ensure that AI is used to benefit the world.
It warns against “improper or malicious design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence systems, such as without adequate safeguards or in a manner inconsistent with international law.”