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Big technology companies are recklessly pursuing profits from artificial intelligence and urgent action is needed to mitigate the risks from the rapidly growing sector, the head of the United Nations has warned. In a fierce attack on the technology multinationals, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, told the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos that every breakthrough in generative AI increased the threat of unintended consequences. Guterres linked the risks from AI to that posed by the climate crisis and said the international community had no strategy to deal with either. Addressing the WEF in the Swiss resort, the UN head challenged representatives of the tech industry in the audience to work with governments to put in place guardrails for AI. "This technology has enormous potential for sustainable development – but the International Monetary Fund has just warned that it is very likely to worsen inequality," he said, referencing an IMF report published on Monday.

This week, Microsoft President and vice chair Brad Smith is heading to Egypt for the United Nation's annual climate conference with a mission: show the world that the tech giant is "consistent and committed" in its climate goals, as well as communicate the "vital role" that the tech industry as a whole has to play in battling the climate crisis. The Microsoft leader has been busy in recent months since the departure of chief environmental officer Lucas Joppa, stepping in to lead the company's climate initiatives (something Smith has always been intimately involved with, as Joppa's boss prior to his departure). Last week at the Web Summit tech conference, he spoke about the urgency of the workforce transformation the world needs to reach net zero, as well as the current skills gap. "The key to the future is going to be a new generation of people with a new generation of technology coming from a new generation of companies," he said, highlighting the work of startups like the India-based SEEDS, which is using satellite data and AI to identify homes that would be most susceptible to extreme heat, then helping them adapt. Using AI and data to help the Global South adapt to climate change is one of Microsoft's main focuses going into the COP27 climate talks.