Guterres Uses Final UN Address to Call for AI Rules

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his final address to the General Assembly on Tuesday to urge world leaders to regulate artificial intelligence, end wars, address climate change and overhaul UN institutions he warned are struggling to confront mounting global challenges. The former Portuguese prime minister, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, called on countries leading the technological revolution to share information on emerging safety risks, cooperate on testing and evaluation, and work towards common safeguards. He pressed for a multilateral AI risk management framework supported by credible and independent oversight, just as the 15-member Security Council prepares to host AI leaders for a briefing on the technology. Guterres compared the need for dialogue among AI superpowers to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War, saying governments with the greatest AI capabilities bear the greatest responsibilities to establish channels for dialogue, transparency, trust and cooperation.