Humanity in 'race against time' on AI: UN - Technology - Dunya News
Humanity is in a race against time to harness the colossal emerging power of artificial intelligence for the good of all, while averting dire risks, a top UN official said Thursday.
"We've let the genie out of the bottle," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
"We are in a race against time," she told the opening of a two-day AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva. "Recent developments in AI have been nothing short of extraordinary."
The thousands gathered at the conference heard how advances in generative AI are already speeding up efforts to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, such as climate change, hunger, and social care.
AI Systems Safety
Doreen Bogdan-Martin highlighted that AI holds "immense potential for both good and bad", stressing that it was vital to "make AI systems safe".
She said that was especially important given that "2024 is the biggest election year in history", with votes in dozens of countries, including in the United States.
She flagged the "rise of sophisticated deep fakes disinformation campaigns" and warned that the "misuse of AI threatens democracy and also endangers young people's mental health and compromise cyber-security."
Technological Governance
Other experts at Thursday's conference like Tristan Harris, a technology ethicist who co-founded the Center for Humane Technology, emphasized the importance of understanding the direction technology is heading.
Harris pointed out the negative impacts of technology, such as addiction, viral misinformation, online harassment, and mental health issues, that have arisen from the rapid advancement of social media.
Future Impacts of AI
OpenAI chief Sam Altman, acknowledged the dangers associated with AI technology. He highlighted "cyber-security" as the biggest concern when it comes to negative impacts of the technology.
He also mentioned the need for a potential change to the social contract due to the expected power of AI technology.
Regulation and Governance
While welcoming discussions around regulations to stem short-term negative impacts of AI, experts also warned about the difficulty in suggesting regulations aimed at reining in future impacts due to the evolving nature of technology and society.
Bogdan-Martin hailed governments and others for racing to establish protections and regulations around the use of AI and emphasized the importance of making technology safe, inclusive, and sustainable.
On Wednesday, the European Union announced the creation of an AI Office to regulate artificial intelligence under a sweeping new law.
