Carme ArtigasandJames Manyika

Opinion | To unlock AI’s potential for good, we all need to work together

UN report with principles and recommendations for international AI governance aims to ensure the technology serves the public interest

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening ceremony of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24, amid growing calls for more international cooperation to address issues such as AI. Photo: Xinhua

Carme ArtigasandJames Manyika

Published: 4:30pm, 2 Oct 2024

Like the steam engine and electricity, artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative, foundational technology. If developed to its full potential, AI can create opportunities for people around the world, enable businesses small and large, power economic growth, advance science and help humanity make significant strides towards achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals.

But realising AI’s potential requires addressing the risks, complexities and inequities that limit access to its benefits. First, we must rethink our approaches to global cooperation and governance. Too many countries are left out of key policy discussions.

As we show in a new report, a sample of major non-UN international AI governance efforts found that only seven countries have participated in every one, while 118 countries – primarily in the Global South – have not been included. The international community can and must do better.

Over the past year, we have co-chaired the UN secretary general’s high-level advisory body on AI, a group of 39 individuals from government, civil society, the private sector and academia representing a wide range of regions, genders, age groups and disciplines.

We developed a set of principles and recommendations for international AI governance, aiming to ensure the technology serves the public interest by grounding it in human rights and international law. To engage diverse perspectives and voices, we involved more than 2,000 participants from every region, consulted more than 1,000 experts, reviewed 250 written submissions and held more than 100 virtual discussions.

We believe this moment presents a unique opportunity for the international community to lay the foundation to harness the potential of AI, address key governance shortcomings and capacity gaps in its development, deployment and use, and enable a more equitable AI ecosystem.