Since Canada became the first country to announce a national AI strategy in 2017, and then led the G7 in adopting a “shared vision for the future of artificial intelligence” in 2018, at least 70 countries have developed AI strategies, and the Council of Europe highlights some 450 AI governance initiatives from a wide range of stakeholders. This global excitement reflects how generative AI models and the explosive adoption of ChatGPT have captured the attention of the masses. Now, the UN is seeking to bring order to this expanding landscape. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a global body to manage the perceived existential risks posed by new AI models, initiating a global digital compact due to be finalized with the UN General Assembly this September. Last year, he appointed international experts to the High-Level Advisory Body on AI (UNAB). In short order, the group published a promising interim report that articulated an approach that would be “agile, networked, dynamic,” and would “leverage existing initiatives.” However, the draft final report, released in July, falls short of the approach promised in the interim report. Useful parts of the draft highlight the UN’s indispensable role in facilitating access and capacity-building to ensure the benefits of AI are shared globally. But the draft veers off course by proposing a broad role in AI policy for the UN Secretariat as a superstructure for AI governance functions already implemented through multiple channels. Involving a body of 193 countries with such widely differing interests in many of these functions is a poor recipe for flexibility and agility, a distraction from the critical path of expanding AI capabilities, and risks fueling geopolitical divisions around AI.
Read also:
Bloomberg: Turkey Has Applied to Join BRICS
Chatham House: Harris to Continue Biden's Foreign Policy Line, But There Are Nuances