The development of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be guided by market forces alone, U.N. experts warned on Thursday, calling for the creation of tools for global cooperation as emerging technology grows in popularıty while also raising more concerns over misuse.
However, they held back from suggesting the creation of a muscular worldwide governing body to oversee the rollout and evolution of technology, the proliferation of which has raised fears around biases, misuse and dependence.
The panel of around 40 experts from the fields of technology, law and data protection was established by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in October.
Their report, published days before the start of a high-profile "Summit of the Future," raises the alarm over the lack of global governance of AI and the effective exclusion of developing countries from debates about the technology's future.
Of the U.N.'s 193 members, just seven are part of the seven major initiatives linked to AI, while 118 are entirely absent – mostly nations of the global south.
"There is, today, a global governance deficit with respect to AI," which by its nature is cross-border, the experts warn in their report.
"AI must serve humanity equitably and safely," Guterres said this week.
"Left unchecked, the dangers posed by artificial intelligence could have serious implications for democracy, peace, and stability."
Against the backdrop of his clarion call, the experts called on U.N. members to put in place mechanisms to grease the wheels of global cooperation on the issue, as well as to prevent unintended proliferation.
"The development, deployment and use of such a technology cannot be left to the whims of markets alone," the report says.
It was called firstly for the creation of a group of scientific experts on AI modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forum of experts whose reports are the last word on the issue of climate change.
The panel would brief the international community on emerging risks and identify research needs as well as how they could be used to alleviate hunger, poverty, and gender inequality, among other goals.
That proposal is included in the draft Global Digital Compact, which is still under discussion and is due to be adopted Sunday at the "Summit of the Future."
The report endorses setting up a light-touch "coordination" structure within the U.N. secretariat.
But it stops short of a fully-fledged international governance body – like that sought by Guterres – based on the model of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
"If the risks of AI become more serious and more concentrated, it might become necessary for Member States to consider a more robust international institution with monitoring, reporting, verification, and enforcement powers," the report said.
The authors acknowledge that owing to the warp speed of change in AI, it would be pointless to attempt to draw up a comprehensive list of dangers presented by the ever-evolving technology.
But they singled out the perils of disinformation for democracy, increasingly realistic deepfakes – particularly pornographic ones, as well as the evolution of autonomous weapons and AI use by criminal and terrorist groups.
"Given the speed, autonomy and opacity of AI systems, however, waiting for a threat to emerge may mean that any response will come too late," the report said. "Continued scientific assessments and policy dialogue would ensure that the world is not surprised."
