UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns against leaving AI’s future to a few billionaires, calls for a $3 billion global fund for equitable access.

NEW DELHI: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the future of artificial intelligence must not be left to “the whims of a few billionaires”.

Speaking at a global AI summit, he called for urgent steps to prevent the technology from deepening global inequality.

Guterres pressed technology leaders to support a new $3 billion global fund to ensure open AI access for all nations.

“AI must belong to everyone,” he declared.

He stated that AI, managed correctly, could accelerate medical breakthroughs and strengthen climate action.

However, he cautioned it could also amplify bias and fuel harm without proper oversight.

The UN chief emphasised the need for global guardrails to ensure accountability and protect people from exploitation.

“No child should be a test subject for unregulated AI,” Guterres told the conference.

He noted the proposed fund represents less than 1% of a single major tech company’s annual revenue.

Without such investment, he warned many countries risk being “logged out of the AI age”.

The summit included national leaders and tech CEOs like Sam Altman of OpenAI and Google’s Sundar Pichai.

Guterres also warned about AI’s soaring energy and water demands from data centres.

He insisted these centres must switch to clean power and not “shift costs to vulnerable communities”.

The United Nations has established a scientific advisory body to help countries navigate AI decisions.

 The Sun Malaysia