UN General Assembly adopts resolution on safe, secure and trustworthy AI

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the promotion of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems on 21 March 2024. The text was adopted without a vote and marked the Assembly's first resolution addressing AI.

What it is

The resolution was a US-led draft, co-sponsored by more than 120 UN member states from every region. Its stated purpose is to promote safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a General Assembly resolution it sets goals and principles rather than binding rules, and it does not establish a process for a binding international instrument or any form of international AI governance.

What it requires

The text calls on member states and stakeholders to refrain from or cease using AI systems that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law or that pose undue risks to human rights. It urges all states, the private sector, civil society, research organizations and the media to develop and support regulatory and governance approaches related to safe, secure and trustworthy AI use. It also recognizes varying levels of technological development between and within countries and urges cooperation to close the digital divide.

What security leaders should do

Security leaders should treat this resolution as a signal of political direction rather than a compliance deadline, since it creates no enforceable obligations for organizations. Programs built around existing frameworks, such as risk management and human-rights-respecting design practices, remain the practical reference points, and leaders should watch for how national regulators translate these non-binding principles into domestic rules.