We must ensure AI strengthens peace and security: UK Statement at the UN Security Council

There is an urgency to this debate.

It was two years ago that the United Kingdom first brought artificial intelligence to this Council.

And since that time, its capabilities have grown exponentially.

This is a lightning strike of change.

Every one of us, diplomat, peacebuilder, terrorist, now carries superhuman expertise in our smartphones, better at maths, better at translation, better at diagnosis, than almost any human expert.

And now, superintelligence is on the horizon, able to operate, coordinate, and act on our behalf.

We are staring at a technological frontier of astounding promise and power.

No aspect of life, war, or peace will escape.

Deep AI analysis of situational data holds this promise for peacekeeping:

Ultra-accurate real-time logistics.

Ultra-accurate real-time sentiment analysis.

Ultra-early warning systems.

But there are also these challenges for armed conflict:

Ultra novel chemical and biological weapons, ultra accessible to malign actors.

And ultra rampant distortion and disinformation.

And, of course, this is what is at stake for our shared security:

The risk of miscalculation.

The risk of unintended escalation.

And the arrival of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots stirring conflict.

The risk of deeper instability is immense.

And this is why I so welcome the Secretary-General's report on military AI.

This is an opportunity for collective understanding.

For us to build new safeguards and guardrails.

And reaffirm international law as the bedrock of responsible use.

We all know that artificial intelligence use is growing, of course, exponentially, offering us both extraordinary promise and intense challenges.

Nowhere is this clearer than in climate.

On current trends, artificial intelligence could add the equivalent of a new Japan to world electricity consumption.

Yet, it also promises to utterly transform efficiency and power our green transitions, fine-tuning electrical production to the minute to meet demand and eliminating astonishing levels of waste.

This is the power of AI.

We are crossing humanity's most profound technological frontier.

Our lives, our world, our politics are about to be flooded with super-powerful AI.

There is only one way forward.

Resilience.

Learning how to use these tools and embedding them safely in society.

This is the United Kingdom's mission.

Through our AI Security Institute, with more dedicated researchers than anywhere else in the world, and through the International AI Safety Report, with its secretariat based in the UK.

Under the chairmanship of Yoshua Bengio, one of our briefers today.

The United Kingdom is committed to using AI responsibly.

Safely, legally, and ethically.

And together, here at the United Nations, we must ensure AI strengthens peace and security.

I believe that it can.

And if we act together, we can get there.