Newyork (The COW News Digital) United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has emphasized the need to reduce fear and anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) while establishing robust mechanisms for human oversight. He announced the creation of a 40-member international expert committee tasked with making human control over AI a practical reality.
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Speaking at a leadership summit on AI in New Delhi, Guterres highlighted that science-based governance does not hinder progress; instead, it can make AI development safer, fairer, and more widely accessible. “The message is clear: reduce fear and exaggeration, and increase reliance on facts and evidence,” he said.
The advisory body, officially approved by the UN General Assembly, has been named the “Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.” Established in August last year, the panel is expected to serve as a reference point for AI governance, similar to how the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change functions in the field of global warming.
The panel will issue its first report in July, coinciding with the United Nations’ global dialogue on AI governance. Its primary objective is to guide governments in establishing regulations for AI, a rapidly evolving technology that has raised global concerns over job displacement, misinformation, online abuse, and other societal challenges.
Guterres stressed that AI innovations are advancing so rapidly that they increasingly outpace humanity’s collective understanding and management capabilities. “We are moving into the unknown,” he said. “Once we understand what these systems can and cannot do, we can move from actions based on mere assumptions to intelligent controls based on risk assessment.”
The Secretary-General unveiled the proposed list of experts for the committee, which includes Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa from the Philippines and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio from Canada. “Our goal is to make human control not just a slogan, but a technical reality,” he stated. He emphasized the need for clear accountability so that responsibility is never assigned solely to an algorithm.
The leadership summit will conclude with a statement outlining a global AI strategy, with dozens of world leaders and ministers participating. The initiative underscores the UN’s commitment to fostering international cooperation, ensuring responsible AI innovation, and maintaining human oversight at the core of technological advancement.
