Geneva is hosting a two-day UN Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, where UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that artificial intelligence is developing faster than the world can keep up with and called for globally harmonised rules, particularly to protect children.

Geneva is hosting a two-day UN Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, where UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that artificial intelligence is developing faster than the world can keep up with and called for globally harmonised rules, particularly to protect children.

“We do not give medicine to a child until it is proven safe. We test every toy. Yet artificial intelligence has already reached our children — their learning, friendships and most private questions — before anyone asked what it would do to them,” Guterres said.

He urged the adoption of an AI Child Safety Pledge, under which companies developing artificial intelligence systems would be required to prove their technologies are safe for children before they are made accessible to minors.

“The world is still not ready for the rapid development of artificial intelligence,” the UN Secretary-General said.

Guterres pointed to reported cases in which minors were steered towards self-harm or misled by artificial intelligence systems posing as companions.

A UN-backed independent scientific panel of 40 experts is expected to present the first global independent scientific assessment of artificial intelligence at the meeting. A more comprehensive report is planned for next year, alongside a second global summit on artificial intelligence governance in New York.