Malicious use of AI could cause 'unimaginable' damage, says UN boss

Malicious use of artificial intelligence systems could cause a "horrific" amount of death and destruction, the UN secretary general has said, calling for a new UN body to tackle the threats posed by the technology. António Guterres said harmful use of AI for terrorist, criminal or state purposes could also cause "deep psychological damage", and he said AI-enabled cyber-attacks were already targeting UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. "The malicious use of AI systems for terrorist, criminal or state purposes could cause horrific levels of death and destruction, widespread trauma and deep psychological damage on an unimaginable scale," Guterres said. Speaking at the first UN security council session on AI, he said the advent of generative AI – the term for AI tools such as ChatGPT that produce convincing text, image and voice from human prompts – could be a defining moment for disinformation and hate speech and add a "new dimension" to the manipulation of human behaviour. Guterres called for the creation of a new UN entity along the lines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to tackle the risks.