UNSC to host first meeting on risks of AI, may suggest regulatory watchdog

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed the suggestion of some executives for establishing an AI watchdog like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which keeps an eye on the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

A report by Reuters said that governments across the globe are looking at ways to mitigate the dangers of growing AI technology which has the potential to change the global economy and international security landscapes.

The hype around AI and its regulation grew after the advent of generative AI technology like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Bard. Apart from the concerns around privacy and data collection by these platforms, many technology experts also raised an alarm about the potential dangers of such AI platforms in the absence of regulation.

Amid the discussions around its impact, Italy became the first free country to temporarily ban the use of ChatGPT. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared before a Senate committee and agreed with the panel on the need for a regulatory body for AI.

Challenges of effective AI regulation

Notably, there are several challenges to regulating AI like catching up on its evolution and rightly describing what exactly AI is as there is no universal definition. One more challenge for effective regulation is the intensity of concern among various countries. 

Most of the high-tech AI companies are currently based in the US, but the country for now the country doesn’t seem to be very passionate about AI regulation. However, the European countries citing their strict data protection laws vouch for active regulation and even legislated an AI act recently.

(With Reuters inputs)

Updated: 17 Jul 2023, 07:35 PM IST