On Thursday, the UN General Assembly passed the first global resolution on artificial intelligence with overwhelming support. According to Reuters, it urges countries to secure personal data, preserve human rights, and be on the lookout for potential AI dangers.
The non-binding resolution, co-sponsored by China and more than 120 other countries and introduced by the United States, also calls for strengthened privacy regulations.
Amid worries that AI may be used to subvert democratic processes, increase fraud, or create dramatic job losses, among other undesirable consequences, governments throughout the world have taken a number of active attempts to influence the technology’s development. This resolution is the most current in the series.
“The improper or malicious design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence systems … pose risks that could … undercut the protection, promotion and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the text of the law states.
In November, the United States, the United Kingdom, and more than a dozen other countries presented the first comprehensive international accord to protect artificial intelligence from rogue actors, urging corporations to create AI systems that are “secure by design.”
According to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, “Today, all 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly have spoken in one voice and, together, chosen to govern artificial intelligence rather than let it govern us.”.
