UN chief warns of ‘severe unintended penalties’ in AI improvement

United Nations Secretary-Common António Guterres on Wednesday known as on political and enterprise leaders to prioritize a worldwide technique coping with the dual threats of artificial intelligence and the climate crisis.

In a particular tackle on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland, Guterres warned that the fast improvement of AI might end in “serious unintended consequences.”

“It’s good to be back and see Davos highlighting the global crisis in trust,” Guterres stated in his opening remarks.

“I believe this crisis is the direct result of a paradox facing our world. In the face of [a] series of existential threats, posed by runaway climate chaos and the runaway development of artificial intelligence without guardrails, we seem powerless to act together,” he added.

“Rebuilding Trust” is the overarching theme of the annual WEF assembly. WEF says this yr’s Davos program embodies a “back to basics” spirit of open and constructive dialogue between policymakers, enterprise leaders and civil society, with AI emerging as a major topic of discussion.

Advocates of AI say the know-how might be harnessed to learn humanity in a number of methods, together with fast-tracking affected person diagnoses, serving to to mannequin local weather change and combating cyberattacks.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said that he believes there’s a want for international coordination on AI and for settlement on a set of requirements and acceptable guardrails for the know-how.

The U.S. tech big is a serious participant within the race to develop AI, pouring billions of dollars into OpenAI, the agency behind the favored chatbot ChatGPT.

“Every new interaction of generative AI increases the risk of serious unintended consequences. The technology has enormous potential for sustainable development, but as the International Monetary Fund has just warned us, it is very likely it will worsen inequality in the world,” Guterres stated.

The IMF said in a report out Sunday that just about 40% of jobs the world over may very well be affected by the rise of AI. It additionally warned that the potential impression of the know-how on the worldwide labor market is prone to worsen general inequality typically.

“Some powerful tech companies are already pursuing profits with a clear disregard for human rights, personal privacy and social impact. This is no secret,” Guterres stated, with out naming any particular companies.

“These two issues, climate and AI, are exhaustively discussed by governments, by the media and by leaders here in Davos. And yet, we have not an effective global strategy to deal with either,” he stated.

“The reason is simple, geopolitical divides are preventing us from coming together around global solutions for global challenges. Little wonder that people everywhere are losing face in governments, institutions and financial and economic systems.”

— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report.