United Nations, February 19 – Warning about the challenges of Artificial Intelligence, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that AI should not replace human potential, but complement it.
“We must invest in workers, so that AI enhances human potential – not replaces it,” he said, addressing a major concern about AI.
At the inauguration of the India AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, he called for addressing the looming social, economic, and ecological problems arising from the proliferation of AI.
“Real impact means technology that improves lives and protects the planet,” he said. “So, let’s build AI for everyone – with dignity as the default setting”.
On the impact on global warming and the environment, he said, “As AI’s energy and water demands soar, data centres and supply chains must switch to clean energy – not shift costs to vulnerable communities”.
He emphasised that “AI must be safe for everyone”. This requires protecting “people from exploitation, manipulation, and abuse,” he said.
Amid the controversies on the deleterious effects of social media on children, he looked ahead to AI and said, “No child should be a test subject for unregulated AI”.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who took over the presidency of the G7, the group of major industrialised democracies, referred to Guterres’ call to protect children.
“One of our G7 priorities will be, as well, children's protection against AI and digital abuse,” he said.
“You just mentioned it, Mr Secretary General, there is no reason our children should be exposed online to what is legally forbidden in the real world,” he said.
Making AI accessible and democratising it was a recurring theme in Guterres’ speech before presidents, prime ministers, and CEOs of tech giants.
“AI must belong to everyone,” he said while pointing to the risk of countries and peoples being marooned away from the promises of the technology.
“Without investment, many countries will be left out of the AI age,” he said.
He reiterated his call for a Global Fund on AI – this time setting a goal of $3 billion – “to build basic capacity everywhere: Skills, data, affordable computing power, and inclusive ecosystems”.
The $3 billion, he said, is less than one per cent of the annual revenue of a single tech company.
That is “a small price for AI diffusion that benefits all – including the businesses building AI,” he said.
Just Microsoft, which ranks fourth among tech companies in annual revenues, takes in $305 billion every year.
While AI can “deepen inequality, amplify bias, and fuel harm”, done right, it has immense potential for bettering humanity, Guterres said.
It can advance the UN’s overarching Sustainable Development Goals, accelerate medical breakthroughs, strengthen food security, bolster climate action and disaster preparedness, improve access to vital public services, and expand education, he said.