Technology must be shaped to avoid tyranny, Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said on Monday at the UN's global dialogue on AI governance.
Mr Al Olama was speaking during the opening session of the two-day AI event in Geneva, Switzerland. He urged those attending to take a cautiously optimistic view of AI, while making sure that everyone plays a role in ensuring it is "merciful and supportive".
He said that to avoid the technology becoming tyrannical, it must be accessible by "the many ... not just the few".
He added that technological infrastructure must be spread throughout the world and an independent judiciary must be formed "to ensure that institutions like the UN can shape the future of AI".
"The decisions we take today are not just for ourselves and our generation, but all generations to come," said Mr Al Olama, whose portfolio also includes the digital economy and remote work applications.
"We shouldn't look at the future of technology with a pessimistic lens, but rather an optimistic one."
Technology leaders from 104 countries and organisations are due to take part in the UN's dialogue, including Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. A follow-up dialogue is scheduled to take place in New York on May 3 and 4 next year.
"No child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said during a speech starting the event.
"I am calling for an AI child safety pledge built on three rules: safety testing and oversight; zero tolerance for abuse; and crisis support systems."
The gathering comes days after the UN's independent scientific panel on AI warned that the technology was progressing faster than scientists can fully understand and beyond governments' ability to regulate it.
The dialogue is also taking place against a souring of public sentiment amid concern about AI's potential for labour disruption and environmental effects, as well as the unequal distribution of the technology.
There are also worries about biases emerging in various AI tools due to the dominance of certain languages, which could lead to large amounts of knowledge and cultures being left by the wayside.
As a result, one of the panel discussions in Geneva focused on the idea of "bridging AI divides", highlighting the importance of access to AI tools, high-performance computing and the development of open-source software.
"Often we speak and make sure that all will benefit from AI, but access alone is not inclusion" said Paula Bogantes Zamora, Costa Rica's Minister of Science and Technology. She said investment in AI must be diversified and pushed for those in attendance to address the fact that "2.2 billion people remain disconnected" from basic internet access.
The UAE has prioritised AI investment and innovation for more than a decade, while also stressing the need for a regulatory framework that protects residents and organisations seeking to make the most of it.
The country also recently became the first Arab nation to ban children under 15 from using social media platforms.
According to Microsoft's AI Economy Institute, the UAE has emerged as the global leader in terms for AI adoption.
