{"id":33641,"date":"2026-07-06T10:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/from-ai-to-killer-robots-un-chief-issues-urgent-governance-call\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T10:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:30:27","slug":"from-ai-to-killer-robots-un-chief-issues-urgent-governance-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/from-ai-to-killer-robots-un-chief-issues-urgent-governance-call\/","title":{"rendered":"From AI to \u2018killer robots\u2019: UN chief issues urgent governance call"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Addressing the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance<\/a> in Geneva, the Secretary-General also insisted on the need for greater accessibility for the billions of people unable to access the revolutionary tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He insisted that any future agreement must be \u201cworthy of global trust<\/strong>\u201d and put safety first<\/strong> \u2013 and especially children\u2019s – to protect them from digitally-generated manipulation and abuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Echoing that call, the President of the General Assembly<\/a>, Annalena Baerbock, urged collective action to counter the \u201csinister” <\/strong>side of AI, noting that a reported 99 per cent of deepfakes are sexual in nature and 96 per cent target women and girls.<\/p>\n

Narrowing the digital gap\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Other priorities for global checks and balances on AI should include locked-in access to the self-learning tech for developing countries, while all AI data centres should be powered by renewable energy by 2030, the UN chief stressed.<\/p>\n

Although AI \u201csits at the heart of our common future<\/strong>\u201d, it needs to be one where \u201cmachines can inform, but humans must decide, and answer<\/strong>\u201d, Mr. Guterres told the summit gathered in Geneva, echoing calls for AI rules that he first made to the General Assembly in 2017.<\/p>\n

In the three years since AI went mainstream, it has had a revolutionary impact across economies and societies, for better and for worse. Ahead of this, the UN has been leading international efforts to shape controls on the tech, culminating in Monday\u2019s inaugural Global Dialogue on AI in Geneva<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The meeting brought together companies, researchers, technical experts, civil society and even classically trained composer-turned\u00a0transmedia electronic\u00a0artist Gadi Sassoon ahead of discussions on how to put humanity at the core of the\u00a0transformative technology. A second Dialogue is scheduled for May 2027 in New York.<\/p>\n

United Nations<\/span>
\n AI-inspired transmedia electronic artist Gadi Sassoon performs at the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland.<\/span><\/p>\n

“AI is too consequential to be shaped by a few. We need a conversation that is global, inclusive and grounded in evidence,<\/strong>“ <\/strong>insisted Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies.<\/p>\n

From the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, <\/a>co-chair Yoshua Bengio stressed that there are no signs that the speed at which the technology is developing will slow down. “Highly concerning tests have also shown that frontier AI models are capable of deceiving humans, to understand when they are being tested,<\/strong>” he added, forecasting that the intelligence of AI will continue to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It sounds like science fiction, but it’s a real possibility, and it could change the world in ways that we don’t understand yet, and it could change the power dynamics of our planet<\/strong> in ways that require our attention,” he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The AI regulation timeline<\/strong><\/h2>\n

2017<\/strong>: In an early call for AI controls,\u00a0Secretary-General Guterres hails the revolutionary tech\u2019s \u201cspectacular\u201d\u00a0potential. But he also warns the General Assembly of its potentially dramatic impact on jobs, global security and \u201cthe very fabric of societies<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

2023<\/strong>: UN chief\u2019s High-Level Advisory Body on AI<\/a> appeals for global governance of the self-learning tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2024<\/strong>: the Pact for the Future<\/a> and the Global Digital Compact<\/a> provide the mandate for an AI governance model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

June 2026<\/strong>: UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence<\/a> warns that AI could \u201ccause catastrophic harm, either on its own or due to malicious users\u201d, while the technology is \u201coutpacing both scientific understanding and governments\u2019 ability to adapt\u201d.<\/p>\n

6-7 July 2026<\/strong>: first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance<\/a> and AI for Good Summit convene in Geneva. These \u201cmust now give the world direction\u201d on how to proceed, Mr. Guterres insists.<\/p>\n

\u2018Great equalizer\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Used well and shared widely, AI \u201ccould compress decades of development into years<\/strong>\u201d and become \u201cthe great equalizer of the 21st century\u201d, the UN Secretary-General told delegates.<\/p>\n

But before this can happen, the technology should be tested thoroughly for safety and legal responsibility assigned:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen countries align on how to test systems, measure risk and assign responsibility, safety travels with the technology<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they do not, a patchwork of incompatible rules raises costs, divides the world \u2013 and protects no one<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s safety and wellbeing should be priority in any future governance accord, Mr. Guterres continued, as he called for nations to adopt an AI Child Safety Pledge<\/strong>. \u201cNo child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI\u2026We do not let medicine reach a child until it is proven safe. We test every toy; yet AI has reached our children \u2013 their learning, their friendships, their most private questions, before anyone asked what it would do to them<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Child Safety Pledge?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Under the UN child safety pledge, AI developers would need to prove:<\/p>\n