Anchor: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and world leaders held an open debate at the United Nations Security Council, discussing ways to more responsibly adopt artificial intelligence. While presiding over the session, Lee highlighted the role of the council in shaping global governance and policy around the technology.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report:

[Sound bite: UNSC open debate: AI and international peace and security (Sep. 25)]

The United Nations Security Council acknowledged the regulation of artificial intelligence as a major global priority.

World leaders and diplomats discussed the emergence of AI in an open debate, with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung presiding, on Wednesday.

Citing the danger of AI-enabled digital attacks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored that “Innovation must serve humanity — not undermine it.”

[Sound bite: UN Secretary-General António Guterres]
"AI is no longer a distant horizon — it is here, transforming daily life, the information space and the global economy at breathtaking speed."
"...The question is not whether AI will influence international peace and security but how we will shape that influence."

South Korea’s president, who holds the Security Council’s rotating presidency for September, likened today's AI models to “a very cute tiger cub," urging world leaders to be wary of its immense capabilities.

[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English)]
"I was reminded of the words of Professor Geoffrey Hinton, who once said that today’s AI is like ‘a very cute tiger cub.’ This tiger cub before us may well grow into a predator that devours us, or it may become a beloved companion like Derpy from ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’"
"... if we are dragged along by the changes without being prepared for them, the extreme technological divide may function as a ‘Silicon Curtain’ that surpasses even the ‘Iron Curtain,’ aggravating global inequality and imbalance.”

Lee urged the Security Council to support the establishment of governance structures in order to address the challenges posed by AI, and participants discussed ways to ensure the technology is adopted responsibly.

[Sound bite: Michael Kratsios, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy]
“We believe broad overregulation incentivizes centralization, stifles innovation and increases the danger that these tools will be used for tyranny and conquest."

[Sound bite: Yoshua Bengio, Université de Montréal]
“Some AIs could surpass most humans across most cognitive tasks in as little as five years, maybe ten years. This would be a radical change in the history of mankind.”

As the chair of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, South Korea plans to adopt a global initiative to ensure that innovation in the AI space benefits humanity.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.