U.N. AI Advisory Panel Holds 1st In-Person Meeting; U.N. Chief Stresses Importance of Intl Discussions on AI

By Yasushi Kaneko / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

7:00 JST, December 10, 2023

NEW YORK — U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized the importance of having international discussions concerning artificial intelligence at the first in-person meeting of the U.N. Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence at U.N. headquarters in New York, according to the U.N.

Guterres said the body should present ambitious recommendations, and a finalized version will be published by summer 2024.

The meeting took place behind closed doors on Thursday.

The advisory body was established by Guterres in October to discuss international governance of AI and how these technologies should be used. The body comprises 39 members, including two Japanese members: University of Tokyo Associate Prof. Arisa Ema and Sony Group Corp.’s Chief Technical Officer Hiroaki Kitano.

“Given that the United Nations is leading the group, I think the focus of the discussions will revolve around human rights, the Global South and developing countries,” Ema told The Yomiuri Shimbun and other media outlets on Thursday.

“It is important to carefully watch the advancement of these technologies and hold discussions based on concrete cases,” she said.