UN General Assembly Adopts First Resolution on Safe, Secure AI — March 21, 2024
The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 78/253 urging member states to advance safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in line with human rights, sustainable development, and risk mitigation obligations.
Co-sponsored by more than 120 countries, the resolution encourages national frameworks for risk management, transparency, and accountability, along with international cooperation on capacity building and incident response. It tasks the UN system with supporting developing nations through technical assistance and sharing best practices.
- Human rights safeguards. Member states are urged to ensure AI governance aligns with international human rights law and to address bias, discrimination, and surveillance risks.
- Capacity building. The resolution calls for resource mobilisation to help developing countries build regulatory, research, and workforce capabilities.
- Multilateral coordination. UN agencies are asked to coordinate standards, promote interoperability, and report on progress ahead of future General Assembly sessions.
Global policy teams should map corporate AI assurance programs to the resolution’s principles as nations translate the guidance into domestic regulations.