UNGA Resolution on enhancing international cooperation on AI | ‘China’ AI Resolution

The General Assembly,
Reaffirming international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations, and recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Reaffirming also its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, the political declaration adopted at the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the General Assembly contained in the annex to its resolution 78/1 of 29 September 2023, and its resolution 70/125 of 16 December 2015, entitled “Outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society”,

Reaffirming its resolutions 78/265 of 21 March 2024, entitled “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development”, 77/320 of 25 July 2023, entitled “Impact of rapid technological change on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets”, 78/132 of 19 December 2023, entitled “Information and communications technologies for sustainable development”, and 78/213 of 19 December 2023, entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights in the context of digital technologies ”,

Recognizing that rapid technological change, including the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has the potential to bring new opportunities for socioeconomic development and accelerate the progress and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner, while recognizing also that the improper or malicious design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence systems, such as without adequate safeguards or in a manner inconsistent with international law, could pose potential risks and challenges,

Recognizing that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge for sustainable development and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development,

Stressing that artificial intelligence systems should be safe, secure and trustworthy – whose life cycle includes the stages : pre-design, design, development, evaluation, testing, deployment, use, sale, procurement, operation and decommissioning, are such that they are human-centric, reliable, explainable, ethical,inclusive, in full respect, promotion and protection of human rights and international
law – in line with the principle of artificial intelligence for good for all, with the vision of a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society, bearing in mind that this resolution focuses on international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacity-building in the non-military domain and does not touch the development or use of artificial intelligence for military purposes,

Emphasizing that Member States should enjoy equal opportunities in the design, development, deployment, decommissioning and use of artificial intelligence, while respecting intellectual property rights and promoting innovation,

Noting with concern that artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries continue to widen, and developing countries face unique challenges in keeping pace with the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence development, in particular in terms of the design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence, thus stressing the need and urgency to narrow the disparities and assist developing countries in artificial intelligence capacity-building so that they
will not be further left behind,

Noting also with concern that actions inconsistent with international law and the Charter of the United Nations could hinder the development and innovation of artificial intelligence and global cooperation,

Noting both the positive benefits of open-source software, open models and open data, among other methods and business models, in spreading the benefits of artificial intelligence, as well as the potential risks, and recognizing the importance of the participation of developing countries in relevant global cooperation,

Recognizing that the lack of digital infrastructure connectivity and skills, including education, expertise and human capacity, remains a fundamental challenge in many developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, which can contribute to artificial intelligence and other digital divides, including different levels of readiness to make use of and benefit from artificial intelligence,

Stressing the need and urgency to bridge artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries, and emphasizing the quality of access to the benefits of artificial intelligence, therefore stressing the importance of providing adequate public and private financing, mobilizing action-oriented means of implementation, such as knowledge sharing activities and the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, and capacity-building assistance for developing countries in line with their national needs, policies and priorities,

Noting the important role that international, regional and subregional organizations and international financial institutions, the private sector, companies, civil society, the media, academia and research institutions and technical communities and individuals, and other relevant stakeholders could play in enhancing artificial intelligence capacity-building and promoting safe, secure and trustworthy artificial
intelligence systems for sustainable development,

Stressing the importance of enhancing coordination and cooperation among and within countries and increasing investment in artificial intelligence capacity-building, with specific consideration of the needs, priorities and conditions of developing countries, and encouraging developed countries and developing countries in a position to do so, as well as international organizations and all relevant stakeholders,
to take active measures,

Recognizing that the United Nations system has an important role to play in artificial intelligence capacity-building, and emphasizing that it is important to enhance international cooperation and multi stakeholder collaboration on capacitybuilding and support developing countries’ effective, equitable and meaningful participation and representation in international processes and forums on the governance of artificial intelligence systems,

1. Resolves to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries, and to enhance international cooperation on capacitybuilding in developing countries, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, with full consideration of the needs, policies and priorities of developing countries, with the aim of harnessing the benefits of artificial intelligence, minimizing its risks, and accelerating innovation and progress toward the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals;
2. Encourages Member States, where appropriate and in line with their national circumstances and priorities, to incorporate capacity-building and the design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence into their national development plans and strategies, in full respect, promotion and protection of human rights and international law, and make necessary investments in this regard, and also encourages the international community, as well as relevant stakeholders, to increase financing and technical assistance to developing countries in the field of capacity-building, including by drawing on voluntary cooperative initiatives;
3. Calls upon the international community to foster an enabling environment for international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacity-building, and emphasizes that international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations, as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms, must be respected;
4. Calls upon Member States to strengthen cooperation and partnerships that bring benefits for all to address major structural impediments and lift obstacles, including through expansion of access to infrastructure, knowledge and skills, with a view to promoting universal and meaningful digital connectivity, which can help lay the foundation for digital transformation and equitable and inclusive access to the benefits of digital and artificial intelligence development and innovations;
5. Encourages Member States, in particular developed countries and those developing countries in a position to do so, to increase capacity-building cooperation, including policy exchanges, knowledge sharing activities and the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, technical assistance, lifelong learning, personnel training, skilling of workforce, international research cooperation, voluntary joint international research laboratories and artificial intelligence capacitybuilding centres, with full consideration of developing countries’ national needs, policies and priorities, and to hold training courses, seminars and workshops, among others for sharing experiences and best practices;
6. Calls upon the international community to provide and promote a fair, open, inclusive and non-discriminatory business environment across the life cycle of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems;
7. Encourages Member States to consider the benefits and risks when scaling up the responsible use of digital solutions, such as open-source artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure, among other methods and business models; to promote, protect and preserve linguistic and cultural diversity, taking into account multilingualism in their training data, particularly for the large language models; to adopt proactive measures to counteract racism, discrimination and other forms of algorithmic bias; and to enable fair competition in the artificial intelligence market place, promote an innovation environment and the use of digital public goods to harness the potential of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems;
8. Encourages Governments, the private sector, international, regional and subregional organizations, civil society, the media, academia and research institutions and technical communities and individuals, to strengthen international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacity-building and take necessary and positive steps, as appropriate, to eliminate barriers faced by all people, women and girls, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, children and youth, those livingin poverty and in rural and remote areas, and those in vulnerable situations, and to ensure the full enjoyment of artificial intelligence benefits for all, improve digitalinclusion and realize gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,through investment, education, training, technological innovation, use and application;
9. Calls upon specialized agencies, funds, programmes, other entities, bodies and offices, and related organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and resources, to leverage the opportunities and address the challenges in enhancing international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacitybuilding, including through using appropriate inter-agency mechanisms, conducting research, mapping and analysis, reporting on progress and challenges in this field, and leveraging their resources and expertise to provide tailored assistance;
10. Calls upon other international, regional and subregional organizations and international financial institutions and all relevant stakeholders, within their respective mandates and resources, to strengthen artificial intelligence capacitybuilding in developing countries, and to carry out relevant cooperation and coordination, fully utilizing the existing international and regional mechanisms and
    platforms;
11. Encourages Member States, in particular developing countries, to make use of capacity-building resources relating to artificial intelligence in the United Nations system and other international, regional and subregional organizations, to enhance capacity-building, including support for the preparation of national digital and artificial intelligence strategies in line with their national needs, policies and priorities, ensuring that those investments lead to long-term and sustainable results;
12. Supports the United Nations in playing a central and coordinating role in international development cooperation;
13. Calls upon the United Nations system to enhance action-oriented international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacity-building, including through voluntary and transparent cooperation frameworks or initiatives, which also promotes the meaningful participation of developing countries in artificial intelligence processes;
14. Looks forward to the final report of the High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, and the discussions on capacity-building related to artificial intelligence in the context of the Global Digital Compact, the Pact for the Future, and relevant follow-up processes in the United Nations as appropriate;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session, within existing resources, processes and documents, on unique challenges faced by developing countries in artificial intelligence capacity-building, with recommendations that address those challenges.