UN AI Experts Warn Against 'Apocalyptic' Rhetoric on Risks
Panel members said AI risk debates should rely on evidence, not fear, as experts disagree on how severe the technology’s dangers may be.
- On September 21, experts on a United Nations artificial intelligence committee warned in New York against apocalyptic rhetoric used by some professionals regarding AI risks, urging a more nuanced approach to the debate.
- Public alarm intensified after a September 16 "emergency protest" in London by civic group PauseAI UK following AI researcher Jacob Coxon's departure from the industry, amid claims technology could cause mass harm.
- International Scientific Panel co-chair Yoshua Bengio urged distinguishing between what scientists know and what can be "plausibly extrapolated," while Google DeepMind executive Joelle Barral cautioned that "investing in fear is not that helpful."
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa argued society must change how it discusses AI risk, warning against turning complex debates into "ideology" and urging a more sophisticated, nuanced conversation.
- The International Scientific Panel, created in 2025, aims to advance scientific understanding of AI to inform United Nations deliberations, grounding future policy decisions in rigorous evidence rather than speculation or alarm.
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"Investing in fear is not really effective," said Joëlle Barral, executive at Google DeepMind and member of the independent international scientific committee on artificial intelligence. "She answered a question from the AFP about the shift in tone adopted by the committee about AI slippages and recent speeches, especially that of Jacob Coxon. Anthropic's resignation employee, previously passed by OpenAI, this computer scientist said at the begi…
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UN AI experts warn against 'apocalyptic' rhetoric on risks
Several experts on a United Nations artificial intelligence committee warned Monday against the apocalyptic rhetoric used by some professionals in the sector regarding AI risks.
Several experts from the United Nations Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) warned on Monday about the apocalyptic rhetoric used by some in the sector to talk about the dangers posed by AI.
Meeting in New York, members of a UN committee call for overcoming the rhetoric of fear about the existential risks associated with artificial intelligence
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