British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke before the UN Security Council on July 18 meeting. (Photo: Reuters)

Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who chaired the meeting under Britain’s July presidency of the body, urged global governments to urgently shape the transforming technologies. He warned that the technology fuels disinformation and could aid both state and non-state actors in a quest for weapons and “enhance or disrupt global strategic stability”.

Meanwhile UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked that AI will have an impact on every area of our lives and can end poverty, banish hunger, and supercharge climate action. However, both military and non-military applications of AI could have very serious consequences for global peace and security, he said.

Guterres urged the Council to lead the way towards common measures for transparency, accountability, and oversight of AI systems, and welcomed calls from some member states for the creation of a new United Nations entity “to support collective efforts to govern this extraordinary technology.”

This entity can seek inspiration from such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN chief said.