ANKARA (Bernama-Anadolu): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Sunday that unequal access to artificial intelligence (AI) could deepen existing global inequalities, calling for greater international efforts to ensure developing countries benefit from the technology, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
"Artificial intelligence could compress decades of development into years,” Guterres told the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
"But its power sits with a few companies, in a few countries,” he said, warning that if left unchecked, "the AI divide will widen every other divide - in income, in opportunity, in security, and in sovereignty.”
Guterres said many developing countries still lack the basic infrastructure needed to take advantage of AI, including computing power, data, and skills.
He highlighted the UN's Independent International Scientific Panel and Global Dialogue on AI Governance, saying support from BRICS countries had been critical to their establishment and ensuring "every nation” has a place in discussions on the technology's governance.
The UN chief urged BRICS members to fully support the Global Network for AI Capacity Building and the Global Fund for AI, initiatives aimed at narrowing technological disparities between developed and developing economies.
"Your countries bring talent, ideas and scale to the age of AI,” he said.
Guterres' remarks came as he laid out four areas he said are essential to achieving inclusive global growth: financing, technology, climate justice, and peace.
He also called for reforms to global institutions, including the UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods system, arguing that existing structures no longer reflect current economic, demographic, and geopolitical realities.
"We are increasingly moving towards a multipolar world,” he said, adding that multipolarity could bring greater "balance and equity” to global institutions but would require reforms that give developing countries greater participation and influence in decision-making.
On climate change, Guterres warned that the world would soon breach the 1.5 Celsius warming threshold and called for accelerated efforts to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy, cut methane emissions, and protect nature.
He also urged developed countries to meet their climate finance commitments, including providing US$300 billion annually and tripling adaptation finance.
Turning to global conflicts, Guterres called for peace in Gaza, the broader West Asia, Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere, stressing that states must comply with the UN Charter and international law.
"As we move irreversibly to a multipolar world, all countries must work to strengthen and safeguard a multilateral system that delivers for all with the United Nations at its centre,” he added. -- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
