The UN General Assembly created an independent scientific body on AI last year. This panel of 40 experts has a mandate, a timeline, and accountability to evidence rather than politics or profit. The stakes are high as AI is moving faster than any society has been able to adapt to. It's already rewriting what we read, what we believe, who we trust - the shared reality that democracy depends on. And this is why Rappler's Maria Ressa and Yoshua Bengio, a Turing awardee, were in New York for a briefing to member states of the United Nations.
The briefing to member states of the United Nations was held on June 19. It was a first for the UN as it briefed member states on the status of a preliminary report on the technology that's turning our world upside down. Maria Ressa and Yoshua Bengio presented a preview of the report to be handed over to the Global Dialogue in Geneva in July. The UN's General Assembly president, Annalena Baerbock, addressed the briefing, highlighting the high stakes of AI. The power to build and control it sits with a handful of companies and a handful of governments.
Governments that agree on almost nothing in the United Nations building engaged and found common ground. State after state pressed the concern that AI cannot become another divide. The questions came back to the same place, again and again - how to close the gap in compute, infrastructure, and access. They want to be active participants, not only consumers, as India put it.
Maria Ressa has long questioned whether we still have agency. Nearly three-quarters of the world today have elected illiberal leaders democratically, insidiously manipulated by information and narrative warfare exploiting the design of social media.
A total of 31 states took the floor to give their statements and ask questions. These included governments from every region and across every divide. The UN's independent scientific body on AI is urging governments to take action. They are calling for governments to take concrete steps to prevent AI from widening the gap between the haves and have-nots.
The UN's General Assembly created the independent scientific body on AI to answer to no company and no country. This is what makes the report trustworthy. And it's the reason the report can be trusted.
“The questions came back to the same place, again and again”
— the one the developing world has been asking longest. From Uruguay to Uganda, from the Caribbean to South and Southeast Asia, state after state pressed it: AI cannot become one more divide, one more technology the many depend on and the few control.
The report has been handed over to the Global Dialogue in Geneva in July. The UN's General Assembly president, Annalena Baerbock, has highlighted the high stakes of AI. The power to build and control it sits with a handful of companies and a handful of governments.
Rappler's Maria Ressa has long questioned whether we still have agency. Nearly three-quarters of the world today have elected illiberal leaders democratically, insidiously manipulated by information and narrative warfare exploiting the design of social media.
A total of 31 states took the floor to give their statements and ask questions. These included governments from every region and across every divide. The UN's independent scientific body on AI is urging governments to take action. They are calling for governments to take concrete steps to prevent AI from widening the gap between the haves and have-nots.
The UN's General Assembly created the independent scientific body on AI to answer to no company and no country. This is what makes the report trustworthy. And it's the reason the report can be trusted.
If we could do it, so can you. This is the challenge from Maria Ressa to governments. She and Yoshua Bengio have found common ground in the science. The UN's independent scientific body on AI is working to ensure that AI is not used to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots.