Global AI governance should be anchored by five key principles

AIthough artificial intelligence (AI) has been quietly helping us for decades, with progress accelerating, 2023 will be remembered as a 'big bang' year.

- IAN BREMMER & CARME ARTIGAS

With the advent of generative AI, the technology has broken through in popular consciousness and is shaping public discourse, influencing investment and economic activity, sparking geopolitical competition, and changing human activities from education and healthcare to the arts. Each week brings some new breathtaking development. AI is not going away, and change is accelerating.

Policymaking is moving almost as fast, with the launch of new regulatory initiatives and fora seeking to meet the moment. But while ongoing efforts by the G7, EU and the US are encouraging, none of them is universal, representing the global commons. In fact, with AI development driven by a handful of CEOs and market actors in just a few countries, the voice of the Global South has been absent. The unique challenges that AI poses demand a coordinated global approach to governance, however, and only one institution has the inclusive legitimacy needed to organize such a response: the United Nations. We must get AI governance right if we are to harness its potential and mitigate its risks. With that in mind, the UN High-level Advisory Body on AI was established to offer analysis and recommendations for addressing the global governance deficit. It has 38 individuals from around the world, representing diverse geographies, genders, ages and disciplines, and drawing on expertise from government, civil society, academia and the private sector.