UN adopts 1st global resolution on AI, safeguarding personal data, human rights
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence to countries to safeguard human rights, protect personal data, and monitor AI for risks.
The nonbinding resolution, proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by China and 122 other nations, took three months to negotiate and also advocates for strengthening privacy policies, senior US administration officials said, briefing reporters before the resolution’s approval.
“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,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
The resolution is the latest in a series of initiatives - few of which carry teeth - by governments around the world to shape AI’s development, amid fears it could be used to disrupt democratic processes, turbocharge fraud or lead to dramatic job losses, among other harms.
“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 measure says.
In November, the US, Britain and more than a dozen other countries unveiled the first detailed international agreement on how to keep artificial intelligence safe from rogue actors, pushing for companies to create AI systems that are “secure by design.”
Europe is ahead of the United States, with EU lawmakers adopting a provisional agreement this month to oversee the technology. The Biden administration has been pressing lawmakers for AI regulation, but a polarized US Congress has made little headway.
In the meantime, the White House sought to reduce AI risks to consumers, workers, and minority groups while bolstering national security with a new executive order in October.