UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres has issued one of his starkest warnings yet on artificial intelligence, declaring that the world is being subjected to an “uncontrolled experiment” as powerful AI systems roll out “without a plan, and without consent.” His remarks opened the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, where he also launched a new AI Child Safety Pledge and renewed calls for a global ban on lethal autonomous weapons.
Speaking to delegates from all 193 UN member states, Guterres said AI is advancing at “runaway speed,” reshaping economies, elections, labour markets and global security faster than governments or even developers can manage. “That is not sustainable. And it is not acceptable,” he said.
His comments accompanied the release of the inaugural report from the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, a group of 40 experts from around the world. The panel warned of three escalating risks: the breakneck pace of AI development, the concentration of computing power in a handful of countries and companies, and the erosion of shared truth as synthetic content becomes indistinguishable from reality.
Guterres said most nations especially developing countries have had no say in decisions shaping technologies that will define their futures. Without action, he warned, these imbalances will become “hard‑wired” into global inequality.
He devoted particular attention to children, saying they were exposed to AI systems “before anyone asked what it would do to them.” He cited cases of chatbots deceiving children by posing as friends, steering them toward self‑harm, or generating abusive imagery. The new AI Child Safety Pledge will require companies to conduct child‑specific safety testing, enforce zero tolerance for AI‑generated child sexual abuse material, and ensure distressed children are connected to human support rather than left alone with an algorithm.
On military uses of AI, Guterres renewed his call for a global ban on lethal autonomous weapons or “killer robots” capable of selecting and striking targets without human control. “That is morally repugnant. It is politically unacceptable. And it must be banned by international law,” he said, adding that decisions involving human life “must remain forever human.”
He outlined four priorities for governments: shared international safety standards for frontier AI systems; enforceable human‑rights “red lines” ensuring humans retain final authority in justice, healthcare and policing; expanded support for developing countries; and greater transparency around AI’s environmental footprint.
Guterres noted that private investment in AI infrastructure reached nearly half a trillion dollars last year, while public investment for developing nations remains negligible. More than 20 countries have already nominated national centres to a UN‑backed global network for AI capacity building, and he said he will soon recommend the creation of a Global Fund for AI to expand access to skills, data and affordable computing power.
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