UN Unanimously Passes AI Resolution

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Facts

  • After three months of negotiations, the first-ever UN resolution on artificial intelligence (AI) has passed. It states that 'improper or malicious design, development, deployment and use of' AI 'pose risks' to human rights.1
  • The document, which was approved by all 193 UN member states, does not mention the use of AI for military purposes.2
  • While not binding, the resolution was proposed by the US and co-sponsored by China alongside 121 other countries. The US, the UK, and over 12 other nations first proposed an international agreement in November to ensure AI is 'secure by design.'1
  • Throughout the negotiation process, developing countries fought to include the risks AI poses to jobs as well, centering the need for electronic infrastructure to ensure fair access to new AI technologies.3
  • This follows multiple international AI discussions over the past year or more, including the G7 summit in Japan, the AI summit in the UK, and recently enacted AI regulation in the EU and China.2
  • Despite the consensus on an AI resolution at the UN, other issues – such as crimes against humanity and cybercrime – have been more divisive among Western states, Russia, and China.2

Sources: 1Reuters, 2Foreign Policy and 3Axios.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FedScoop. The international community has rightly aligned itself with the US on this issue on behalf of a truly rules-based order. After months of negotiations and collaborative edits, this first-of-its-kind resolution not only calls for security and privacy measures but also to use AI as a means of enhancing wealth, education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability around the world.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Common Dreams. International AI resolutions won't mean much until governments agree not to use this technology for military purposes. Powerful governments like the US have already begun creating autonomous weapons, efforts that place everyone in grave danger. If the UN wants to show good faith to the world, it should restrict the use of autonomous weapons and prohibit the integration of this software into nuclear bombs.

Predictions