Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ opening remarks to the press conference with the Co-Chairs of the Independent Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, in New York today:
Good morning. We are focused today on the future. But, before we begin, allow me to say a quick word about yesterday’s decision by the General Assembly to strengthen the United Nations for that future.
You were just briefed by the Controller on a new reform of our financial rules. For far too long, the UN budget process has faced a fundamental contradiction: as we know all too well, Member States do not always pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. Yet, we were often required to return funds that we had not spent because we had not actually received them due to unpaid assessed contributions by Member States.
This means that we have been hamstrung by a double blow: on one side, unpaid contributions; and on the other side, an obligation to return funds that never arrived in the first place. In other words, we were trapped in a Kafka-esque cycle expected to give back cash that did not exist.
Yesterday, Member States agreed to change that. Under a new methodology on a trial basis, unspent funds will be returned only when they are backed by cash. I have been pushing for this reform for almost a decade. It will allow us to manage resources more responsibly, protect the continuity of our operations and better support critical mandates — including peacekeeping.
I am grateful to Member States for taking this important action which will greatly benefit the incoming administration and contribute to the financial stability of the United Nations in the coming years.
But, today, we are here for a different reason. We are here to present an extremely important UN initiative on artificial intelligence that was decided by the General Assembly in the follow up to the Pact for the Future — the Independent Scientific Panel on AI. I am pleased to be joined today by its Co-chairs — Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa.
A few months ago, I came before you to announce the formation of this Panel comprised of 40 distinguished individuals from around the world. It is an extraordinary and unique group — the first global, fully independent scientific body dedicated to helping close the AI knowledge gap and assess the real impacts of AI across economies and societies.
As I said at the time, the Panel is intended to help the world separate fact from fakes, and science from slop. We are looking to them to provide an authoritative reference, a reference point at a moment when reliable, unbiased understanding of AI has never been more critical.
I am pleased to say that they have delivered a down payment on that commitment — in record time. Indeed, the Panel is releasing today their first assessment on the eve of the inaugural AI Dialogue next week in Geneva. My thanks to them and to every one of the Panel’s 40 members for their hard work and insights.
This morning, their assessment goes to every Government. And it is open to the public for everyone to see. Their report is honest about the extraordinary promise of this technology. Used well, AI could be the most powerful engine for development — speeding the world’s progress on everything from health and hunger to learning and climate.
But, the Panel is just as clear-eyed about the harm artificial intelligence can cause. The Co-Chairs will go through their findings in detail.
But first, let me draw a single lesson. The more AI advances without shared rules, the less say governments and people will have in the outcome. So, my message to Governments is simple: Do not wait. This is a preliminary report — the Panel will keep working as the technology evolves. And it does not work alone.
Next week, in Geneva, the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance will begin to turn science into shared action — with every nation at the same table. I look forward to joining Member States there to help carry this work forward.
And soon, I will set out proposals to help countries build the capacity to adequately deal with this technology – and share in its rewards. The Summit of the Future asked whether international cooperation could keep pace with the speed of technology.
Today offers one answer. The science is here. We can no longer say we did not know. What we do with it is now up to all of us. In full respect for the Panel’s independence, I will now leave you in the capable hands of the two Co-Chairs. Yoshua, Maria, the floor is yours.
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