Foreign Secretary Address to the UNSC on Artificial Intelligence
Foreign Secretary address on artificial intelligence and international security – United Nations Security Council
Can I really thank you for convening this very, very important session.
And I also want to put on record my thanks to the expert speakers, who have provided such an illuminating contribution to this session.
I think we should stand back and take stock of what confronts us in this Session in the Security Council.
Because AI is a technology which undoubtedly has the power to transform our world for the better.
I’m sure we all see it in our daily lives.
We see it in all of our countries.
But today the founders of this technology are coming to us with a
stark warning.
They are telling us not just that they relish the chance of this
technology to do good, but they fear its ability to do harm.
They are telling us, in stark terms, that it cannot just be left to them to prevent disaster from befalling the world.
I say today, we cannot ignore them.
Because they are right.
Because we cannot abdicate our responsibility to our citizens…
Because we cannot outsource to private companies the first duty of
government to protect our people.
Whatever the issue.
This Security Council was founded to address the greatest collective challenges of our time.
So it is for governments.
For governments, as many of the people who have made contributions today, from the tech world have said.
For all of us around tables such as this to work together – and together with industry – to deliver in the interests of the people that have sent us here.
And that is what the UK Government is committed to doing.
We must start with safety.
This means working harder to ensure frontier AI models are
rigorously tested.
And building a system of assurance around model development
to allow us to establish trust that models are safe.
Second – transparency.
The companies building the models cannot simply be left to their own devices.
Governments must have the visibility to understand and assess what AI companies are doing.
The leading AI companies have actually committed to provide this visibility.
It’s really, really important.
And it is an offer that we and they should follow through on.
Third – resilience.
We have to harden our defences to reduce the impact of AI-enabled incidents.
Even if we test every model, we must be prepared for AI to be misused.
That includes boosting our cyber defences, protecting critical infrastructure, and reinforcing our financial systems.
And we must support our populations to manage and adjust to
the disruption that AI will bring to how we live and work – as
well as to harness its incredible benefits.
I say today that the UK will play its full part in this process.
We established the first AI Security Institute, which shares
its leading expertise, testing capabilities, and research –
working hand in glove with the United States and the leading labs on AI safety.
As our Prime Minister set out yesterday, the UK will put AI at
the heart of its G20 Presidency next year.
Building on our track record of bringing the right people together on this issue.
Breaking down silos between government, industry,
researchers, and civil society.
Delivering on the potential of AI for good, and dealing with the risks.
Whether in terms of the future of jobs, protecting children, cyber
security, biosecurity, national security, or financial stability.
As we also work towards agreeing to a single set of global
principles and standards…
To ensure the transparency and access necessary to increase
our preparedness.
To ensure that AI development is safe.
And, as the previous speaker said, to seize potential for the Global South and Global North alike.
Let me just end on this point.
I think overall this is not a choice between progress and safety.
We are only going to be able to innovate and capture the extraordinary
benefits of AI, which I’m sure we all share in this room, if people have confidence that the right safeguards are in place.
So together we must take whatever measures are necessary so that AI is secure, safe, and trustworthy.
Whilst still advancing its incredible potential to drive growth,
cure disease, and transform people’s life chances.
I end on this point finally.
We can’t say we haven’t been warned.
We have been warned.
By the people who have founded this incredible technology with its huge potential for good.
We must act on their warnings, and we must act on their warnings together.