(Credit: Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis)
The United Nations has adopted its first resolution on artificial intelligence, which, while non-binding for the 120 nations sponsoring it, aims to promote "safe, secure, and trustworthy" AI and stop UN member regions from deploying AI that would violate international law.
The UN Assembly asked all its members to "refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence systems that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law or that pose undue risks to the enjoyment of human rights."
The US led the adopted resolution. Numerous European and African nations sponsored the resolution, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Israel, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates, to name a few.
The resolution states that "improper or malicious" AI tools "pose risks that could hinder progress" toward the UN's economic, humanitarian, and sustainability goals. AI may "widen digital divides" between countries, "reinforce structural inequalities and biases," cause discrimination, harm individual privacy, and "compound threats from malicious actors."
The resolution calls for equitable AI, repeating multiple times that it needs to be "safe, secure, and trustworthy," but doesn't expand further on what that means or might look like. It emphasizes that human rights must be upheld, AI regulation should be established, and the public must be educated on how AI works, among other points.
While this resolution briefly touches upon some of generative AI's risks, it spends much more time stating that ethical AI tools should be developed, promoted, and used.
US Ambassador and Permanent UN Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement that the UN's first AI resolution is just a first step.
"We intend for it to complement future UN initiatives, including negotiations toward a global digital compact and the work of the Secretary-General’s high-level advisory body on artificial intelligence," Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the international community must "govern this technology rather than let it govern us."
"Let us reaffirm that AI will be created and deployed through the lens of humanity and dignity, safety and security, human rights and fundamental freedoms," Thomas-Greenfield continued.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith also commented on the news, stating that the tech giant backing OpenAI "fully supports" the resolution.
"The consensus reached today marks a critical step towards establishing international guardrails for the ethical and sustainable development of AI," Smith wrote.
The UN's AI resolution comes as more governments are starting to pass AI laws of their own. Last week, the European Union passed its anticipated AI Act, which bans AI from being used to assess human biometric data or surveillance footage, among other provisions. And on Thursday, the state of Tennessee signed a new law to better protect musicians and individuals from being impersonated or "misused" by generative AI. It's called the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, and is intended to prevent the state's well-established music industry from being overrun by tools that mimic or "clone" artists.