United Nations, Sep 23: In his inaugural speech at the UN General Assembly, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said world leaders must set up global standards to oversee artificial intelligence because “fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance”.
Burnham said the UK will try to persuade other countries to adopt rules on transparency and access to AI models – and, even tougher, to get tech companies to sign on, too.
He said AI has immense potential but will also be “a source of disruption to the way we live and work – and a multiplier of risk”.
Burnham also said Russia and other states are using AI-augmented misinformation and disinformation to corrode democracy, something he said Britain has faced in the decade since it voted to leave the European Union.
He said he has asked British security chiefs to set up a National Centre for Information Defence to counter the threat.
Burnham also chaired a meeting at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday on the Israel-Palestine issue, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan.
He said the two-state solution to Israel-Palestinian conflict must be kept alive.
Burnham said failure to deliver a two-state solution will “corrode trust” in politicians who have talked about the issue but not taken action.
He told delegates from dozens of countries that the UK has banned trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank because the “E1” settlement expansion plan is “a deliberate attempt to block a two-state solution.”
“We all live in an era of low trust in politics. Many people in this room, many politicians around the world, have spoken for decades about a two-state solution. But if we fail to back those words with deeds, we will further corrode trust in the political, diplomatic and international process,” the UK prime minister said. (AP)
