Calls for Safe, Responsible Artificial Intelligence Fill General Assembly Hall as Speakers Debate Perils, Promise of New Technologies in Global Governance
Amidst the boundless possibilities of a highly powered digital future lies the potential for lethal catastrophe as the world advances in the artificial intelligence race, world leaders heard today as the General Assembly’s high-level debate entered its fifth day.
“The world wants peace, not war,” said Han Zheng, Vice President of China, opening the debate in the Assembly hall. Rejecting the “cold-war mindset and bloc confrontation”, he emphasized that AI should be developed “for the positive and for good”, while efforts should narrow the digital divide and promote universally beneficial development.
The “world is undergoing a profound disruption,” observed Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, noting that States “face both great peril and great promise”. Calling AI “the most urgent frontier”, he encouraged States to invest in science and infrastructure, also equipping people with skills to master and deploy this technology. He underscored the importance of safeguards and rigorous rules, stressing that “human beings must remain in control and accountable”, reform existing institutions, and create new rules and institutions for new technology.
While terrorism is a persistent threat, misuse of artificial intelligence is sharpening bias and eroding mutual respect, warned Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs of India. At the same time, AI can be “a transformational driver” of human empowerment and economic prosperity, defending each nation’s right to develop its own models consistent with national goals.
Echoing that, Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, spotlighted the power of artificial intelligence to transform societies. “Just imagine a world where with the help of AI we can prevent famine and cure cancer”, he said, warning that “in the wrong hands” it can also upend economies, erode trust and influence decisions on global peace and security. With most global AI patents held by companies in only two major countries, he emphasized: “Whenever power becomes global, responsibility must become global, too.”
AI Must Benefit All, Not Deepen North-South Divide
“We must therefore not allow AI to deepen old inequalities and create an entirely new global divide,” added Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, calling for investment in infrastructure, skills and capacity for developing States, as well as “governance frameworks that safeguard privacy and intellectual property, ensure data integrity and promote the ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies, without stifling innovation”.
Mohamad Haji Hasan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, said the UN must continue to empower Global South countries — who are likely to be more greatly affected by unequitable AI development — to participate in global discussions. “The Global South cannot simply become a destination for data centres while decisions about AI are made elsewhere,” he stressed. “We must be partners in innovation, not merely customers and markets. And not merely destinations for investment.”
AI Capacity-Building: It Takes a Global Village
AI adds a further layer to existing pressures, observed John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize. “Well governed, it can widen access to knowledge and improve public services”, he noted. “Poorly governed, it can deepen inequality, expose critical systems, displace workers and leave developing countries dependent on technologies and rules designed elsewhere.” He stressed that national legislation alone cannot govern a technology that crosses every border.
With that in mind, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, said his country has taken a leading role in establishing the International Network of AI Capacity-Building Centres and hosts the International Center for AI Research and Ethics in Riyadh under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Sokhonn Prak, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, underscoring that combating online fraud has become “one of our highest national priorities”, highlighted efforts to intensify law-enforcement operations against scam centres and the criminal networks behind them.
Technology Moving Faster than Regulation; Threats Posed by Drones
Vasile Tofan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, said that “technology is moving faster than regulation almost everywhere, and artificial intelligence is widening that gap. Small countries can have a natural edge here.” He addressed Moldovans directly in Romanian, pointing to the growing threat posed by Russian drones and calling for solidarity among people.
Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, retorted that the real threat is coming from elsewhere. “The West is pumping the Ukrainian regime full of weapons, helping Kyiv to target drones and missiles at civilians and civilian infrastructure,” he said, adding: “In order to supposedly constrain Russia, the [United States] has destroyed the European security system and created a Russophobic regime in Kyiv.” Meanwhile, countries of the Global South and East are asserting themselves as sovereign centres of development and are taking responsibility for ensuring security in their own regions.
Suffering of Migrants Must End
A section of delegates also addressed migration and cross-border movements, another pressing twenty-first century issue driven by conflicts as much as by climate and economic realities.
Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government Spokesperson of Djibouti, stressed that new global crises are having devastating security and humanitarian consequences. With his Government keenly following the conflict in Yemen, which has seen the arrival into his country of “several thousand people fleeing violence there”, the refugee situation puts enormous pressure on Djibouti’s receptive capacity as the country is unable to “meet the growing needs of these people”. He appealed to the international community to assist with the influx of refugees and peacefully resolve the Yemeni conflict.
Similarly, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, urged the international community to not forget hundreds of thousands of Rohingya enduring statelessness and “inhumane and deadly circumstances” for over nine years. “Their suffering must end!” he declared, calling for conditions enabling their safe, legal, voluntary and unhindered return.
Mohamed Ali Nafti, Tunisia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, said while his country continues to save the lives of irregular migrants on land and sea, providing them with care and suitable conditions for their voluntary return to their countries of origin and combating human trafficking and migrant smuggling, “Tunisia firmly rejects becoming either a transit country or a destination for irregular migrants who are victims of human trafficking networks.”
He called for a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration that considers its human and historical dimensions and moves beyond a narrow security perspective while addressing its root causes, including conflict, poverty, unemployment, trafficking and economic and social inequality. “Such an approach would embody shared responsibility, solidarity and cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination.”
Theresa P. Lazaro, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, said the millions of migrant workers are entitled to full human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of status, and therefore deserve steadfast protection from trafficking and exploitation along perilous migration routes. She said that the seafarers among them form an indispensable lifeline of global commerce, with nearly 90 per cent of world trade moving by sea and supported by close to 2 million seafarers, of whom over 25 per cent are Filipinos.
The undesirable plights of migration notwithstanding, other delegates highlighted a silver lining in its stormy cloud, especially for the hardest hit and highest impacted demographic — the youth — outlining steps to better manage the phenomenon.
For Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe, Zambia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Africa’s youthful population is one of our greatest assets and represents an enormous opportunity for global prosperity,” he said, emphasizing that by 2050, one in every four youths in the world will be African. They must therefore be provided with quality education, relevant skills, access to technology, entrepreneurship opportunities and decent employment. He further highlighted measures initiated by his Government to expand access to education and promote gender equality alongside the economic empowerment of women and girls.