Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres supported the idea of creating an international body to monitor artificial intelligence technologies like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Reuters writes about it.
“The alarm bells for the latest form of artificial intelligence – generative AI – are staggering. And they [sound] loudest from the developers who created it. We must take these warnings seriously," Guterres told reporters.
According to him, by the end of the year, work will begin on a high-level advisory body on artificial intelligence, which will regularly review AI management mechanisms and make appropriate recommendations on human rights, the rule of law, and the common good for humanity.
"I am committed to the idea that we could have an artificial intelligence agency... based on what the International Atomic Energy Agency is today," Guterres noted.
He also said that such a model could be "very interesting," but noted that "it can only be created by member states, not the UN Secretariat." The IAEA, which was created in 1957, includes 176 countries.
ChatGPT OpenAI developer stated in May that a body like the IAEA would be able to impose limits on the deployment of AI, verify compliance with security standards and monitor the use of computing power.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also supported this idea. He wants the UK to become the base for global AI safety regulation. A summit is due to take place in the United Kingdom later this year. There they will discuss how coordinated actions of the international community can overcome the risks of artificial intelligence.
Guterres said he supported the plan to hold the summit in Great Britain, but noted that it must be preceded by "serious work". He plans to appoint a scientific advisory board in the coming days, which will include artificial intelligence experts and top UN scientists.
- Italy blocked ChatGPT in March of this year due to concerns that the AI and chatbot training methods breached the European Unionʼs Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But later Italian government unblocked it.
- In late March, billionaire Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives called for a six-month pause in the development of systems more powerful than the recently launched OpenAI GPT-4. They published an open letter in which they named the potential risks to society and humanity.
- Canada started an investigation against the ChatGPT developer company. The process was initiated in response to a complaint about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information without usersʼ consent.
- In April, China decided to introduce mandatory security checks for services based on artificial intelligence.
- The EU is already creating a working group with ChatGPT to establish privacy rules for artificial intelligence.