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Western nations worry that UN involvement could open the door to Chinese and autocratic influence
webPublished by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in July 2024, this piece reflects transatlantic concerns about geopolitical competition over AI governance and the risk that multilateral UN processes could be captured by authoritarian states.
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Importance: 42/100opinion pieceanalysis
Summary
This CEPA analysis examines Western democracies' concerns about UN Secretary-General Guterres' High-Level AI Advisory Board, arguing that the UN's opaque governance process and inclusive framing could enable China and autocratic states to shape global AI policy. The article critiques the UN's rushed consultations and proposed new bureaucratic structures as potentially undermining democratic AI governance frameworks already established by the G7, EU, and OECD.
Key Points
- •UN Secretary-General Guterres established a High-Level AI Advisory Board in Oct 2023, framed as ensuring Global South inclusion in AI governance.
- •Western democracies fear UN involvement opens the door to Chinese and autocratic influence over AI governance structures.
- •The board's process was criticized as opaque and perfunctory, with stakeholder feedback largely ignored in draft final reports.
- •The UN proposal calls for new institutions including an International Scientific Panel on AI, a Policy Dialogue on AI governance, and an AI Standards Exchange.
- •Multiple competing AI governance frameworks already exist (G7, EU AI Act, Council of Europe treaty, OECD), raising questions about UN added value.
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| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Failed and Stalled AI Proposals | Analysis | 63.0 |
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# UN Attempts AI Power Grab. The West is Unhappy
Under the guise of giving China and the global South a strong voice on artificial intelligence policy, United Nations bureaucrats are trying to take over AI governance. Democracies object.
By [Fiona Alexander](https://cepa.org/author/fiona-alexander/ "Posts by Fiona Alexander")
July 24, 2024
Everybody, it seems, wants to govern AI. The [G7 “Hiroshima AI Process”](https://www.mofa.go.jp/ecm/ec/page5e_000076.html) produced voluntary guiding principles. The UK and South Korea held [AI Safety summits](https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/05/22/ai-seoul-summit-world-leaders-agree-to-launch-network-of-safety-institutes). The [US](https://www.nist.gov/aisi), [Japan](https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2024/0214_001.html), and [Canada](https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2024/04/07/securing-canadas-ai), among others, have set up AI safety institutes. The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe produced a [treaty](https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/council-of-europe-adopts-first-international-treaty-on-artificial-intelligence) on AI’s impact on human rights and the rule of law and the European Union legislated the [AI Act](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence). The [OECD](https://oecd.ai/en/), the [G20](https://www.caidp.org/resources/g20/), and UN specialized agencies such as the [ITU](https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/backgrounders/Pages/artificial-intelligence-for-good.aspx), and [UNESCO](https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence) have ongoing AI efforts.
Not to be left out, the UN headquarters in New York is now getting into the act. With the stated intent of “ [fostering a globally inclusive approach](https://www.un.org/techenvoy/ai-advisory-body),” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres established a [High-Level AI Advisory Board](https://www.un.org/techenvoy/ai-advisory-body). But the US and its allies worry that the UN involvement could open the door to China and autocratic control over the revolutionary technology.
The UN’s goal is laudable: ensure that the Global South is included in AI governance. The problem is that the UN works in a secretive, opaque fashion. Established in October 2023, the high-level board put out interim recommendations only two months later. While the [board](https://www.un.org/en/ai-advisory-body/members) itself includes AII speci
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