Amid the fear and talks about AI regulations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed his endorsement for a proposal made by certain AI executives regarding the establishment of an international oversight body for AI, similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Guterres emphasised the urgent need to heed the warnings surrounding the latest form of AI, particularly from the developers themselves. He stated, “We must take those warnings seriously.” Concerns about AI have arisen regarding the technology’s potential to generate deep fake images and propagate misinformation with the likes of text generating LLM models.

To address these concerns, Guterres announced plans to initiate the development of a high-level AI advisory body by the end of the year. This body would regularly assess AI governance frameworks and provide recommendations on how to align them with human rights, the rule of law, and the common good. He regarded this AI agency model as potentially “very interesting”, while clarifying that it is the member states, not the Secretariat of the United Nations, who have the authority to create such an agency. 

The IAEA, headquartered in Vienna and formed in 1957, promotes the safe and peaceful use of nuclear technologies and monitors compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with its 176 member states.

Collaboration required

Though the move from the UN seems like a positive one, it is important to ensure that all the participating countries are on the same page when it comes to AI regulations. It is still not clear where India stands with AI regulation and has still been bouncing around the thought.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, suggested at the US Senate last month that an agency similar to the IAEA could impose limitations on AI deployment, ensure compliance with safety standards, and monitor the utilisation of computing power. But on the flip side, while the US has been trying to contain the progress of China in the realm of AI, recently, OpenAI also called for collaboration with China for mitigating AI risks and shaping AI safety guidelines. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also voiced his support for this idea, expressing his desire for the United Kingdom to become a global hub for AI safety regulations. Later this year, the UK plans to host a summit that explores coordinated international efforts to address the risks associated with AI.

Guterres welcomed the proposal for the summit in the UK but emphasised the importance of conducting substantial preparatory work beforehand. He mentioned his intention to appoint a scientific advisory board comprising AI experts and chief scientists from UN agencies in the coming days.