United Nations General Assembly Adopts by Consensus U.S.-Led Resolution on Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development

Today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a U.S.-led resolution on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development”— the first-ever standalone resolution negotiated at the UN General Assembly to establish a global consensus approach to AI governance.

The United States’s leadership on this effort enabled all Member States to endorse principles that will promote safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems to advance sustainable development.  The resolution encourages Member States to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems by:

• Cooperating with and providing capacity building and technical and financial assistance to developing countries;
• Closing the AI divides and other digital divides that exist between and within countries;
• Promoting equitable access to the benefits of AI systems;
• Respecting, protecting, and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the life cycle of AI systems;
• Protecting individuals from all forms of discrimination, bias, misuse, or other harm from AI systems;
• Developing regulatory and governance approaches and frameworks related to AI systems;
• Testing AI systems prior to deployment and use;
• Raising public awareness of the appropriate civil use of AI systems;
• Encouraging the development of tools that identify AI-generated digital content and their origin;
• Safeguarding privacy and the protection of personal data;
• Respecting intellectual property rights;
• Mitigating the potential negative consequences for workforces; and
• Encouraging the private sector to adhere to applicable international and domestic laws.

The resolution further encourages actions to benefit all individuals in all societies across all stages of the AI life cycle through applications focused on health, education, food security, energy, and climate action.  This resolution recognizes that all countries can develop and benefit from AI systems, for example, to improve agricultural productivity and grow resilient crops to overcome global food insecurity, to help forecast extreme weather and mitigate the impact of climate disasters, to deliver accurate diagnoses, predict, prepare, and respond to outbreaks of disease, to model clean energy infrastructure for a healthier future, and to open economic opportunities for people around the world.

Societies will benefit from steps described in the resolution that strengthen AI safety and security, including by mitigating risks from AI systems, bolster efforts to protect privacy; advance equity and human rights; further consumer and worker interests; and promote innovation and competition on solutions to improve lives.  Other steps will help individuals everywhere be better able to determine when content is generated using AI and when it is not.

This resolution builds on multiple international initiatives to articulate a shared approach to safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems, including the Bletchley Declaration from the UK Safety Summit, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Summit hosted by India this year, the International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems developed through the G7 Hiroshima AI Process hosted by Japan last year, the G20 Principles for Trustworthy AI, and the OECD AI Principles.

The United States remains strongly committed to these multilateral efforts, and has already taking action to support the Resolution’s objectives:

• President Biden has taken unprecedented steps to ensure America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence. The resolution supports the Biden Administration’s October 30, 2023, Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which calls for expanded bilateral, multilateral, and multistakeholder engagements to establish international frameworks for harnessing AI’s benefits, managing its risks, and ensuring safety. This resolution also reflects the Administration’s commitment to protect Americans from the potential risks of AI systems while promoting innovation and competition and advancing equity and civil rights.
• In March 2023, Vice President Harris announced the Women in the Digital Economy Fund. With a combined investment of $60.5 million, USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation set up a new fund to accelerate closing the gender digital divide, at least half of which will focus on Africa.  In addition, private sector commitments totaling nearly $400 million support the key pillars guiding the work of the United States to close the gender digital divide.

• In September 2023, Secretary Blinken announced, working with Congress, plans to provide $15 million in assistance to promote the responsible use and governance of AI globally, among other objectives, to include programs that leverage AI tools to help countries achieve SDGs. Additionally, the U.S. private sector committed $21 million to leverage AI to bolster the SDGs and to provide training to 4 million people on AI skills.  Separately, co-convening countries announced significant future funding and resources of more than $9 billion in investments in AI startups and scaleups as well as risk analysis globally.

• USAID developed the AI Action Plan, which charts a course for responsible use of AI in USAID programming and is collaborating with the Department of State and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create an AI Development Playbook. USAID is also working in partnership with other international development donors to better understand our collective investments in AI and the types of funding efforts that will be required in the future.

Global consensus on this resolution sets a strong foundation for the further development of AI governance and innovation and lays the groundwork for future multilateral and international work on AI, including at the UN.