AI ‘moving at the speed of light’ warns Guterres, unveiling recommendations for UN expert panel

"AI is moving at the speed of light," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, underscoring the urgency of regulating the breakthrough technology. "We need shared understandings to build effective guardrails, unlock innovation for the common good, and foster cooperation. The Panel will help the world separate fact from fakes, and science from slop."

The roots of the Panel stretch back to 2023, in the wake of the release of ChatGPT in the United States and other pioneering technology, heralding a new era in the field of artificial intelligence.

Mr. Guterres convened a group of leading technologists and academics and tasked them with advancing recommendations for safe governance.

After a series of in-depth discussions, the experts came back with a vision for an approach to AI governance that could benefit humanity. Amongst the ideas was the creation of the International Scientific Panel - independent but supported by the UN.

The Panel, says Mr. Guterres, will be 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."

Panellists will exchange ideas, run "deep dives" into priority areas such as health, energy and education, and share the latest leading-edge research.

Diverse candidates

On Wednesday, Mr. Guterres and Amandeep Gill, his Special Envoy on Technology, informed journalists that the names of 40 prospective members would be submitted to the General Assembly, which will have the ultimate say over the panel's membership.

Mr. Gill said the experts on the list were chosen for their globally recognised expertise in AI. Geographical representation and gender balance also came into play.

The nominees - 19 women and 21 men - include Sonia Livingstone (United Kingdom), a professor at the London School of Economics and an advisor on media literacy and rights in the digital environment; Balaraman Ravindran (India), head of the Department of Data Science and AI at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras; and Maria Ressa (Philippines), the renowned journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Finding consensus

With its large and diverse membership, diverging attitudes towards regulation and growing geopolitical tensions, the ability to forge consensus could prove challenging.

But Mr. Gill pointed out that, even during the Cold War, scientists from across the world were able to work together on issues of international importance. "It's one of the value-adds of the United Nations to provide those mechanisms where scientific understanding, common understanding can be advanced," he said.

The General Assembly is expected to make the final decision on membership on 12 February, and the Panel's first report is due to be delivered by July.