Officials from the United States said on Thursday that the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence (AI), with the goal of promoting personal data protection, human rights, and risk management.
Before approving the non-binding resolution submitted by the United States and backed by China and 121 other nations, authorities stated in a news conference that the negotiating process took three months.
The resolution also demands for stronger privacy policies.
This resolution is the most recent in a string of attempts made by governments across the world to control breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence, amid fears about its potential use to undermine democratic procedures, increase fraud, or cause mass job loss, among other things.
Most past attempts were ineffective in resolving these issues.
The resolution said that the harmful or incorrect design, development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence systems poses concerns to the preservation and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
According to one source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the resolution strikes the appropriate balance between encouraging growth and protecting human rights.
In November, the United States, the United Kingdom, and more than 12 other nations announced the first formal international agreement on tackling the downsides of artificial intelligence, urging corporations to create “ethically designed” AI systems.