Is the UN concerned about existential risk from AI?

In June 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated: "Alarm bells over the latest form of artificial intelligence (AI) — generative AI — are deafening, and they are loudest from the developers who designed it. These scientists and experts have called on the world to act, declaring AI an existential threat to humanity on a par with the risk of nuclear war. We must take those warnings seriously."

In October 2023, the United Nations announced the creation of an advisory body on AI.

For more on the UN's stance on AI risk, see:

• "Supporting Global Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence", from the office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology

• "UN AI Actions", from AI for Good

• "Towards an Ethics of Artificial Intelligence", from The UN Chronicle