Who gets to shape AI? UN debate centres on power, trust and inclusion

Artificial Intelligence or AI – and the technology behind it – is moving fast. The question being asked across the world is who gets a seat at the table deciding how it's used and who gets to benefit.When global leaders gathered at the UN during High-Level Week at the organization’s headquarters in New York, AI emerged as an issue which both unified and divided nations.Although they largely agree there are significant upsides to AI, they are split on the risks, who writes the rules, and how to stop entire countries from being left behind.UN News reviewed some of the key speeches made during the UN General Debate to get a sense of the challenges and benefits that nations are focused on.As UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it: “AI is indeed a game changer — with enormous promise to advance medicine, accelerate scientific discovery, expand opportunity, and improve lives.”Innovation vs safeguardsCountries seemed focused on finding the right balance: How can we push the positive aspects of AI technology forward without opening the door to disaster at the hands of rogue agents?President of the General Assembly Khalilur Rahman put it plainly: “AI can be a powerful accelerator of h...