Speaking at the first UN global dialogue on AI governance in Geneva, the Secretary-General also emphasized the need for greater accessibility for the billions of people who do not have access to the revolutionary technology.
He insisted that any future agreement “deserves worldwide trust” And Safety comes first – and especially children – to protect them from digitally generated manipulation and abuse.
Following this call, the President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, called for collective action to combat the “scary” side of the AI, noting that 99 percent of deepfakes are reportedly sexual in nature and 96 percent target women and girls.
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Reducing the digital divide
Other priorities for global AI checks and balances should include blocking access to self-learning technology for developing countries, while all AI data centers should be powered by renewable energy by 2030, the UN chief stressed.
Although AIlies at the heart of our shared future“, it has to be one where “Machines can inform, but humans have to decide and respond“ said Mr. Guterres at the summit gathered in Geneva, repeating calls for AI rules that he first addressed to the General Assembly in 2017.
In the three years since AI became mainstream, it has had a revolutionary impact on all economies and societies, for better or worse. Ahead, the United Nations has spearheaded international efforts to shape controls over the technology, culminating in the first global dialogue on AI in Geneva on Monday.
The meeting will bring together companies, researchers, technical experts and civil society to discuss how to put humanity at the heart of transformative technology. A second dialogue is planned for May 2027 in New York.
“AI is too consequential to be designed by a few. We need a global, comprehensive and evidence-based conversation.“ emphasized Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies.
Yoshua Bengio, co-chair of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, stressed that there is no sign that the speed at which the technology is developing will slow down. “Worrying tests have also shown that groundbreaking AI models are capable of fooling people into understanding when they are being tested,he added, predicting that AI intelligence will continue to increase.
“It sounds like science fiction, but it is a real possibility and it could change the world in ways we don’t yet understand, and it could change the power dynamics of our planet in a way that requires our attention,” he said.
The timeline for AI regulation
2017: In an early call for AI controls, Secretary-General Guterres praises the “spectacular” potential of the revolutionary technology. But he also warns the General Assembly of the potentially dramatic impact on jobs, global security and “the actual structure of societies“.
2023: The UN chief’s high-level advisory panel on AI calls for global governance of self-learning technology.
2024: The Future Pact and the Global Digital Compact specify the mandate for an AI governance model.
June 2026: The United Nations’ independent international scientific panel on artificial intelligence warns that AI “could cause catastrophic harm either alone or through malicious users” as the technology “exceeds both scientific understanding and the adaptability of governments.”
6th-7th July 2026: The first UN global dialogue on AI governance and the AI for Good summit will take place in Geneva. These “must now give the world the direction” as to how things should proceed, emphasizes Mr. Guterres.
“Great balance”
AI is well used and widely used.could compress decades of development into yearsand will be “the great equalizer of the 21st century.”st Century,” the UN Secretary General told delegates.
But before this can happen, the technology should be thoroughly tested for security and legal responsibility:
“As countries agree on how to test systems, measure risks and assign responsibility, security comes with technology” he said. “If they don’t, a patchwork of incompatible rules increases costs, divides the world – and protects no one.”
The safety and well-being of children should be a priority in any future governance agreement, Mr. Guterres continued, calling on nations to adopt an agreement AI Child Safety Promise. “No child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI… We will not allow any medication to reach a child until it has been proven safe. We test every toy; Yet AI reached our children – their learning, their friendships, their most private questions, before anyone asked what it would do with them.”
What is the Child Safety Pledge?
Under the UN Child Safety Pledge, AI developers would be required to demonstrate:
- That the technology is safe – no company should deploy an AI system accessible to children without child-specific safety testing and independent oversight;
- Zero tolerance for sexual abuse – no company should allow their AI to generate sexual images of children; Every company must detect, report and eliminate them.
- When a child shows signs of distress, “The system needs to stop and connect them with real human support” said the UN chief. “When harm is done to a child, the answer should never be, “The algorithm did it.”“ said the UN chief.
Human rights are a priority
As a second priority for AI control, the UN chief emphasized that human rights are non-negotiable.
“AI must never strip dignity or perpetuate discrimination. And in every important decision – in the judiciary, in healthcare, in policing – machines can inform, but humans must decide – and respond” he said.
Public funding of AI “a rounding error”
In a call for greater public investment in AI, the Secretary-General noted that private funding for AI infrastructure is approximately $500 trillion, while public support for AI capabilities in developing countries remains.a rounding error“, in comparison.
To address this gap, the UN chief announced that more than 20 countries had supported his initiative for a UN-backed global network for exchange and cooperation on building AI capacity.
“We cannot allow the digital divide to deepen into an AI divide and the AI divide to become a development gap, a security gap and a sovereignty gap” he said.
Call for transparency
The UN chief also reiterated his transparency call for every major AI company to measure and publicly disclose the full footprint of their systems: carbon, water and land – and to commit to powering every data center with renewable energy by 2030.
“AI may feel intangible – but its footprint is not” he emphasized, pointing out that data centers use more electricity than most countries.
“By 2030, they could use more electricity than all but five nations – and enough water to meet the needs of all 1.3 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa for an entire year” he added, referring to the UN AI Environmental Transparency Initiative.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1167873
