The UN's AI warnings grow louder Welcome back to In the Loop, new twice-weekly newsletter about AI. It was a busy week for our team: Tharin Pillay was on site during the UN General Assembly in New York, while Harry Booth and Nikita Ostrovsky were at the "All In AI" event in Montreal. If you're reading this in your browser, why not subscribe to have the next one delivered straight to your inbox? The United Nations General Assembly met this week in New York. While the assembly members spent much of their time on the crises in Palestine and Sudan, they also devoted a good chunk to AI.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 42 people across Gaza since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as the United Nations General Assembly prepares for a vote urging an unconditional ceasefire in the besieged enclave. Sources told Al Jazeera that at least 26 of the people killed on Thursday died in Israeli drone attacks while waiting for food and basic supplies being distributed by the controversial United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Gaza civil defence official Mohammed el-Mougher told AFP news agency that al-Awda Hospital received at least 10 bodies and about 200 others who were wounded "after Israeli drones dropped multiple bombs on gatherings of civilians near an aid distribution point around the Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza". El-Mougher said that Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital also received six bodies after Israeli attacks on aid queues near Netzarim and in the as-Sudaniya area in northwestern Gaza. Since the GHF began its operation in Gaza in late May, dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach the aid distribution points, according to Gaza's civil defence agency.

Over the past decade and a half, I have attended many meetings and conferences, and met many people in Western governments, think tanks and academia who have been concerned about the rise of autocracies across the world. Many of them believe that authoritarian tendencies are the biggest threat to the liberal world order and rules-based system. But I beg to differ. I believe the biggest threat to the liberal world order comes from liberal democracies and not their autocratic nemeses. That is because there is a widening chasm between the values Western governments proclaim to uphold and their actual conduct.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly in person for the first time since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022. Dressed in his trademark khaki green shirt, he urged member states to come together to oppose Russian aggression and stressed the need for a peace recognising Ukraine's territorial integrity. Here is the full text of Zelenskyy's speech from September 19. I welcome all who stand for common efforts! And I promise – being really united we can guarantee fair peace for all nations.

Washington, DC – Since its first session in 1946, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has served as a platform for world leaders and diplomats to spell out their countries' priorities and offer assessments of the problems and needs of humanity. UNGA meetings, particularly the general debate, have brought sworn enemies to the same building and allowed some of the United States' most hostile adversaries to visit New York, where the UN headquarters are located. As the assembly convenes for its annual session this week, here's a look at some unforgettable, and sometimes comical, UNGA moments. After more than four decades in power, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi made it to the UN podium in 2009. And it was a debut to remember.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., says Xi Jinping is turning Vladimir Putin into his'junior partner.' Russia is in talks with China to purchase 100 combat drones, according to a new report published just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had evidence Beijing was weighing lethal aid to Moscow in its war against Ukraine. Der Spiegel reports that Moscow is looking to commission a Chinese manufacturer to mass produce the drones – with a delivery date as early as April. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. Per the report, Xian Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology, a Chinese drone manufacturer, has said it was prepared to make 100 prototypes of its ZT-180 drone, which carry a 35-50kg warhead. The drones are similar to Iran's Shaheed-136, which Russia has used to kill hundreds of Ukrainians and damage infrastructure.

Joe Biden made his début at the elegant green-marble rostrum of the United Nations this week, as the coronavirus infected more than half a million people each day worldwide, as wildfires and floods aggravated by climate change ravaged the Earth, and as the U.S. struggled to prevent a new cold war with China. In lofty language, the President tried to redirect the world's focus away from the calamitous end to America's longest war, in Afghanistan, and a recent bust-up with its most longstanding ally, France. Just eight months into his Presidency, Biden is already trying to hit reset on his foreign policy. "I stand here today for the first time in twenty years with the United States not at war. We've turned the page," Biden told the chamber.

Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His priorities have been to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. He has sought to be a bridge-builder, to give voice to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthen the Organization itself. "I grew up in war", the Secretary-General has said, "and saw the United Nations help my country to recover and rebuild. That experience was a big part of what led me to pursue a career in public service. As Secretary-General, I am determined to see this Organization deliver tangible, meaningful results that advance peace, development and human rights."

General Assembly is 2 blocks from the MBTA Red line South Station at 125 Summer St, Boston, MA (at intersection with High St - map here). Show ID at the security desk and come to the 13th floor. There are parking meters along Atlantic Ave and other area streets, but we recommend parking on-site, at the "125 Summer St Garage" at 28 Lincoln St, for $12 after 5 pm.

Sustainability became the most important component of world development, as countries worldwide fight the battle against the climate change. To understand the effects of climate change, the ecological footprint, along with the biocapacity should be observed. The big part of the ecological footprint, the carbon footprint, is most directly associated with the energy, and specifically fuel sources. This paper develops a time series vector autoregression prediction model of the ecological footprint based on energy parameters. The objective of the paper is to forecast the EF based solely on energy parameters and determine the relationship between the energy and the EF. The dataset included global yearly observations of the variables for the period 1971-2014. Predictions were generated for every variable that was used in the model for the period 2015-2024. The results indicate that the ecological footprint of consumption will continue increasing, as well as the primary energy consumption from different sources. However, the energy consumption from coal sources is predicted to have a declining trend.