UN approves 40-member scientific panel on the impact of artificial intelligence over US objections

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a 40-member global scientific panel on the impacts and risks of artificial intelligence, with the United States strongly objecting.

UN-Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who established the panel, called the adoption “a foundational step toward global scientific understanding of AI.”

“In a world where AI is racing ahead,” he said, “this panel will provide what’s been missing – rigorous, independent scientific insight that enables all member states, regardless of their technological capacity, to engage on an equal footing.”