YouSaid · the spoken record
Oliver Dowden
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On the record 2015–2026
hansard · un-general-debate
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“Today I can announce that we are developing a new UK resilience academy that will improve the skills of those groups. It will provide a range of learning and training opportunities for the whole of society. For professionals, there will be a curriculum to build skills, knowledge and networks, and a centre of excellence for exercising. For businesses, there will be greater guidance, with particular assistance on threats to critical national infrastructure and cyber. For citizens, there will be a unified Government resilience website, which will provide practical advice on how households can prepare as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps individuals can take to raise their resilience.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The people I met at Porton Down and our wider resilience community are on the frontline. They make our people safer and our country stronger. I champion them and pay tribute to them for the work they do. I also pay tribute to the local resilience fora up and down the country, who are there for us when we need them through every kind of crisis, as we saw demonstrated most vividly during the covid pandemic. Our work to make our country as resilient as possible is a constant endeavour. The resilience framework sets out ambitious plans to continue to strengthen the frameworks, systems and capabilities that underpin the UK’s resilience through to 2030, and we are building on those plans. The Government have a role in bringing all the actors together and giving them the skills they need.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The national risk register published this year is the most transparent ever, because it is vital that we all understand the threats that we face—and when I say all of us, I mean the whole of society, from Government to emergency responders, industry, voluntary and community leaders, and citizens. Last week I was at Porton Down—in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, I believe—to inspect the vital work done there to protect the United Kingdom from chemical, biological and radiological threats. I saw the laboratories where highly skilled staff dedicate themselves to improving our preparedness for future pandemics and to defending our country against malicious attacks such as those we saw in Salisbury.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government need to be ready to respond to any and all risks, so we must maintain the flexibility to respond to whatever confronts us. In the last year, as chairman of the UK resilience forum, I have regularly convened blue light and local responders, industry leaders and representatives from the voluntary sectors with Government. We have continued to play an active role with international partners, including the OECD, NATO and Five Eyes, and bilaterally with our allies. Through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities we are significantly strengthening the capability and capacity of local resilience fora.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The accompanying paper sets out in full the progress that we have made, but allow me to detail to the House the key improvements that I am confident have greatly improved our resilience. We have made changes to our structures, such as the introduction of the resilience directorate, COBR unit and situation centre. We have initiated new capabilities, such as the new emergency alert system. We have bolstered our resources towards severe threats, such as through our biological security strategy, underpinned by over £1.5 billion of annual investment, and we are embedding a whole-of-society approach to resilience that reflects the fact that everybody has their part to play. As Deputy Prime Minister, I am the lead Minister for resilience and I chair a new resilience sub-committee of the National Security Council.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We live in a dangerous and volatile world. The risks are more numerous, more complex, and evolving more rapidly than ever before. The aftermath of the global pandemic, Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, extreme weather events, cyber-attacks, malign AI use cases—all those and more threaten the security, safety and stability of our nation. Protecting people is the first duty of government, which is why resilience is a top priority for this Government. It is quite simply the means by which we seek to prevent risks from becoming a reality. When I published the resilience framework last December, I promised to provide an annual update to the House on our progress. This statement fulfils that commitment.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“However, this Government have created for the first time a specific committee of the National Security Council—the resilience committee, which I chair—whose task is to hold those Departments to account. That is precisely what we are doing.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Against that backdrop, we continue to increase our resilience, including through the creation of the ministerial cyber board and the National Security Council’s resilience committee, which I chair. The right hon. Gentleman also mentioned democracy and how we will prepare ourselves for forthcoming elections. Elections will happen not just in this nation but in many others next year—indeed, in this nation, it could be the year after. That is why we have instructed the defending democracy taskforce to make sure we are fully resilient. Finally, the right hon. Gentleman talked about governance. For many years, including when he was a Minister, we have been governed by the lead Government Department model, in which each Department takes responsibility for the risks set out in the national risk register.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This Government have invested in renewables. We have not only the world’s largest offshore wind farm, but the second, third, fourth and now the fifth largest, with many more in the pipeline. I am in constant contact with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and we continue to work to ensure the resilience of our energy networks this winter. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the risks around cyber. As I have said to the House previously, it is undoubtedly the case that the risk landscape around cyber continues to increase, not just in this nation but around the world, year in and year out. That is driven by a range of factors, not least, as he highlighted, the grey zone between hostile state actors and cyber-criminals.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“If we have another pandemic, whatever form it takes, the crucial thing will be getting rapidly from the point at which the disease is sequenced to an effective vaccine. We are boosting our capabilities to enable us to do that within 100 days, because we saw during covid that that was the key to setting people free. Turning to covid contracts, I gently point out to the right hon. Gentleman and the Opposition that at the time of covid, Opposition Members were constantly calling for us to go faster and look at a wider range of suppliers; I think at one point we were urged to seek the services of costumiers and football clubs. Since then, we have recovered huge amounts of money by establishing the Public Sector Fraud Authority, which has recovered double its target in the first year. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned energy resilience.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“However, what we have done differently since covid is to be much more public about those risks through the national risk register, which sets out the range of risks that the nation faces, their likelihood and their impact. We have put an unprecedented amount of information into the public domain to help people prepare, whether as individuals or in businesses, local government or voluntary organisations. The right hon. Gentleman asked about covid preparedness. That is precisely why we have introduced the biological security strategy, a £1.5 billion annual investment to prepare ourselves for the whole range of biological hazards we might face. The 100-day challenge is part of that strategy.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his words about my longevity—I very much intend for that to continue, and I will take his comments in the spirit in which I am sure he meant them. He asked about a range of issues and I will seek to address as many as I can, but I will be happy to follow up if I miss any. First, the right hon. Gentleman talked about the range of risks that we face as a nation. He is absolutely right that one of the principal tasks of the Government and, indeed, my Department is to be across all of those risks, which we have done for many years through things such as the national security risk register.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When I was at Porton Down last week, I saw the kind of investment that the UK Health Security Agency is making in precisely this area, whether in capacity to test vaccines’ effectiveness or to test the testing equipment. I am confident that while there is more to do, as I set out in my statement, we continue to improve our performance.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My right hon. Friend tempts me to talk about the origins of covid. I will simply highlight that the World Health Organisation continues its investigation, and we are very much supportive of that. As for what we are doing differently, the key thing is to move from the establishment of the disease to the vaccine with the 100-day taskforce. We have also overhauled our governance structures. For example, we have split the long-term risks and the short-term risks by creating a totally separate unit that deals with long-term risks, which is headed by a head of resilience. That will enable the Government to deal with the long-term risks but also focus on the short-term challenges.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The website and other measures facilitate people’s ability to volunteer and help their communities, so I find it odd that the SNP is set against that.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady’s characterisation is simply false. First, it was because of the discipline the Government showed between 2010 and when the pandemic struck that we had the resources that enabled us to intervene in an unprecedented way, through the covid recovery scheme and other measures, to help over 10 million people keep their jobs. We would not have been able to do that without the fiscal discipline this Government showed. On measures to support people, we have: the boost to the winter fuel payment of an additional £300 per household; the pensioner cost of living payment of £600 that will help with heating costs over the colder months; a £150 rebate on winter electricity bills through the warm home discount; and I could go on. We are providing support for the vulnerable.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Since the last report, through the ministerial cyber board we have for the first time mapped the risks across all of Government, and held Departments to account for improving their performance. On the point raised by my right hon. Friend about Sellafield, I assure the House that many of the issues are historical. The regulator has for some time been working with Sellafield to ensure that the necessary improvements are implemented, and we are expecting regular updates on progress.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is exactly why we are investing over £5.2 billion for the period 2021 to 2027, which is double the previous amount. That has already resulted in more than 60,000 properties being better protected, and there is a large pipeline of work arising from that unprecedented investment.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend speaks from experience, having previously worked in the Cabinet Office, and he is absolutely right to highlight the importance of exercising. Indeed, we conducted Exercise Mighty Oak, a major national exercising programme in relation to power outages, earlier this year. We are currently developing the forward programme for national exercises, and I will be able to provide an update shortly on our progress. Indeed, it forms part of the national resilience academy to train people in that kind of exercising.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government have introduced an unprecedented package to address sewage discharge. On resilience more widely, we have put £150 million into the flood and coastal resilience innovation programme to ensure that, as we develop flood defences, we also look at how we protect against, for example, coastal erosion and wider risks to seawater.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend raises a very important point. First, I pay tribute to the National Cyber Security Centre, which helps councils up and down the country deal with these cyber-attacks when they hit. I am discussing insurance with my right hon. Friend the Security Minister, and we are keeping an open mind. There are arguments for and against it, not least that we do not want to create incentives whereby local authorities and others will not undertake the necessary measures, but there may well be a case for doing so and we are continuing to explore that.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The short answer to that is yes. That is why, for example, we have for the first time introduced cold weather warnings, working with the Met Office, which we have not done before. I have already outlined to the House the unprecedented level of funding we are putting into flood risk prevention. Indeed, when we look at the risks that may face us, the most common risk is likely to be related to severe weather in this country, and it is a big focus for the Government’s efforts.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight this. As he says, AI will increase the threat landscape vis-à-vis cyber risks; I hope that we can also apply AI to reduce those risks. We are already working with the National Cyber Security Centre to develop products to inform individuals, and the new academy will work to provide education material. If everyone acted straight away when they got one of those annoying alerts to run the updates on their mobile phone, it would be the single best thing we could do to increase this nation’s cyber-resilience.”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise this. Under this Government, we have seen a 68% reduction in carbon emissions, which is faster than the EU, the United States of America and others. We are world leaders in many technologies, not least offshore wind and, I hope shortly, in the next generation of carbon capture and storage. We continue to work very closely with businesses to help them build that resilience [Official Report, 16 January 2024, Vol. 743, c. 10MC.] .”
House of Commons4 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Cabinet Office played a crucial role in co-ordinating the cross-Government response to the pandemic, and we continue to learn lessons from it. Last year, the Cabinet Office published the resilience framework, an ambitious, wide-reaching and long-term plan that is already working to strengthen our national resilience.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I should say from the outset that I simply do not recognise that characterisation, but that is the whole point of the inquiry. This Government set up the inquiry, for the sake of the victims and the nation, to get to the bottom of what was an unprecedented crisis not just here, but around the world. We have been totally open and transparent with that inquiry. We have given it over 56,000 pieces of evidence. I would gently urge the hon. Gentleman to allow the inquiry to complete its investigations, to hear from all the witnesses and to produce its recommendations. As I have committed to that inquiry, the Government will respond fully to every single recommendation from Lady Justice Hallett.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my right hon. Friend for her question, and I pay tribute to her for her many years of service in the Cabinet. I agree with her characterisation of the civil service. Indeed, in my time working in various ministerial roles, I have seen true professionalism and dedication. However, I think she is absolutely right that we need to improve both our data analytics and the data flow into Government. One of the things we learned during the covid pandemic was, for example, that setting up the data centre in the Cabinet Office massively improved the amount of data we received. That enables us to deal with these very fast-moving situations and, indeed, we have used it in subsequent crises.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we will furnish the inquiry with every single piece of information it requires. Indeed, I would note that the Prime Minister and all those who are requested to provide information to the inquiry are legally obliged to do so. That is precisely what we have done. My Department alone has provided over 56,000 different pieces of evidence. I would gently say to him that the Labour party repeatedly called for this inquiry to be set up. We have set up this inquiry, and I think hon. Members should allow it to do its job, not jump to conclusions. When it produces its recommendations, I can assure the House that the Government will respond in full.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is an established regime under which Ministers’ interests are declared and managed. Ministers seek the advice of their permanent secretaries and the independent adviser on Ministers’ interests, who reports twice yearly. This is but one element of a network of ethics systems, including the ministerial code and the business appointment rules, which uphold the highest standards in Government.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The accession of His Majesty the King marked a new chapter in our nation’s history. This month, the Cabinet Office launched a scheme to make new portraits of His Majesty available to all public institutions. After the splendour of the coronation, this is a fitting addition to the fabric of our public life. The Cabinet Office has also led efforts on artificial intelligence, including setting up a new AI incubator made up of a team of technical experts. We will use our convening power to drive AI adoption across Government.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady will have heard the answers given by my right hon. Friend, the Paymaster General. He has given a clear commitment, which I am very happy to endorse from the Dispatch Box, on both transparency and speed of response. That is the approach that he and I are pursuing.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“May I begin by paying tribute to the extraordinary endeavours of my hon. Friend’s constituent, which I would never be able to achieve at any stage in life? I am afraid that it is a general principle that honours are not given posthumously, but we are in consultation with the palace to look at posthumous honours for people who have lost their lives in public service. We continue to keep this under review, but it is a complex area.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I refer the hon. Gentleman to a written ministerial statement I made to the House a couple of months ago, in which I explained how, at length, we have implemented many recommendations, for example from the Boardman review and others. That included strengthening the civil service contractual requirements in relation to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments and introducing a deed of covenant for Ministers to uphold the findings of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. I continue to engage with Lord Pickles, who chairs ACOBA, about further such reforms that can be undertaken.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As ever, my right hon. Friend raises an erudite question. My disposition, and that of the Government, is that open source AI is an important basis upon which we can build many world-leading applications. We can see companies in this country growing at a fast pace by developing innovative AI off the back of open source. Of course, there are risks associated with it, but there is a high bar to be met before the Government would start imposing additional regulatory burdens on open source AI, given the associated benefits for economic growth.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know that the Procedure Committee has been examining this subject, and we continue to discuss it with you, Mr Speaker. There is a well-established convention whereby the office of Foreign Secretary has been held by a Member of the other place. That has worked well in the past, but I know that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is committed to further increasing his accountability to this place.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I refer the hon. Gentleman to my previous answer about the well-established principle that Ministers can serve from the other place, which I believe last happened when Lord Mandelson was in the Labour Cabinet. However, the Government and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recognise this House’s desire to scrutinise him and he has committed to further measures to ensure that happens.”
House of Commons23 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“So we must work, alongside its pioneers, to understand it. to govern it. to harness its potential and to contain its risks. We will have to be pioneers too. We may not know where the risks lie. how we might contain them or even the forums in which we must determine them. What we do know, however, is that the most powerful action will come when nations work together. The AI revolution will be a bracing test for the multilateral system, to show that it can work together on a question that will define the fate of humankind. Our future, humankind’s future and our entire planet’s future depends on our ability to do so. That is our challenge, and this is our opportunity to be. truly, the United Nations.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“It is the first body of its kind in the world that is developing the capacity to conduct the safe external red-teaming that will be critical to building confidence in frontier models. And our ambition is for the Taskforce to evolve to become a permanent institutional structure, with an international offer. Building that capacity in liberal, democratic countries is important. Many world-beating technologies were developed in nations where expression flows openly and ideas are exchanged freely. A culture of rules and transparency is essential to creativity and innovation, and it is just as essential to making Al safe. That is the task that confronts us. It is — in its speed, scale and potential — unlike anything we or our predecessors have known before. It is exciting, daunting and inexorable.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“Moreover, it is essential that we bring Governments together with the best academics and researchers to be able to evaluate technologies. Technology companies must not mark their own homework, just as Governments and citizens must have confidence that risks are being properly mitigated. Indeed, a large part of this work should be about ensuring faith in the system, and it is only nation States that can provide reassurance that the most significant national security concerns have been allayed. That is why I am so proud that the United Kingdom’s world-leading Frontier AI Taskforce has brought together pioneering experts like Yoshua Bengio and Paul Christiano, with the head of the Government Communications Headquarters and our national security advisers.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“I simply point to the words of hundreds of AI developers, experts and academics, who have said: “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” I do not stand here this evening claiming to be an expert on AI. but I do believe that policymakers and Governments ignore this expert consensus at the peril of all of our citizens. Our summit will aim to reach a common understanding of those most extreme risks and how the world should confront them and. at the same time, focus on how safe AI can be used for public good. The speed of its progress demands that this cannot be a one-off or even an annual gathering. New breakthroughs are happening daily, and we will need to convene more regularly.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“that challenge requires a new form of multilateralism — because it is only by working together that we will make AI safe for everyone. Our first ever AI summit, in November, will kick-start that process, with a focus on frontier technology. In particular, we want to look at the most serious possible risks, such as the potential to undermine biosecurity or increase the ability of people to carry out cyberattacks, as well as the danger of losing control of the machines themselves. For those that say that those warnings are sensationalist or belong to the realm of science-fiction.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“We have the frontier technology companies; we have world-leading universities; and we have some of the highest investment in generative artificial intelligence (AI). And. of course, we have the heritage of the Industrial Revolution and the computing revolution. This hinterland gives us the grounding to make AI a success and make it safe. They are two sides of the same coin, and our Prime Minister has put AI safety at the forefront of his ambitions. We recognize that while, of course, every nation will want to protect its own interests and strategic advantage, the most important actions we will take will be international. In fact, because tech companies and non-State actors often have country-sized influence and prominence in AI.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“But in this instance the necessary guardrails, regulation and governance must be developed in a parallel process with the technological progress. Yet. at the moment, global regulation is falling behind current advances. Lawmakers must draw in everyone — developers, experts and academics — to understand in advance the sort of opportunities and risks that might be presented. We must be frontier Governments alongside frontier innovators. The United Kingdom is determined to be in the vanguard, working with like-minded allies in the United Nations and through the Group of Seven’s Hiroshima AI Process, the Global Partnership on AI and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Our country is uniquely placed.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“AI that strives to surpass intelligence in every possible way. Some people working on that think it is just a few years away. The question for Governments is how we respond to that. The speed and scale demand that leaders be clear- eyed about the implications and potential. We cannot afford to become trapped in debates about whether AI is a tool for good or a tool for ill; it will be a tool for both. We must prepare for both and insure against the latter. The international community must devote its response equally to the opportunities and the risks and do so with both vigour and enthusiasm. In the past, leaders have responded to scientific and technological developments with retrospective regulation.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“Our efforts need to pre-empt those possibilities and to come together to agree a shared understanding of those risks. That is what the Al summit that the United Kingdom is hosting in November will seek to achieve. Despite the entreaties we saw from some experts earlier in the year. I do not believe we can hold back the tide. There is no future in which that technology does not develop at an extraordinary pace. And although I applaud leading companies’ efforts to put safety at the heart of their development and their voluntary commitments that provide guardrails against unsafe deployment, the starting gun has been fired on a globally competitive race in which individual companies, as well as countries, will strive to push the boundaries as far and fast as possible. Indeed, the stated aim of those companies is to build superintelligence.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“Yet any technology that can be used by all can also be used for ill. We have already seen the dangers AI can pose: teens hacking individuals’ bank details, terrorists targeting Government systems, cybercriminals duping voters with deepfakes and bots. even States suppressing their peoples. But our focus on the risks has to include the potential of agentic frontier AI. which at once surpasses our collective intelligence and defies our understanding. Indeed, many argue that the technology is like no other in the sense that its creators themselves do not even know how it works. They cannot explain why it does what it does, and they cannot predict what it will or will not do. The principal risks of frontier AI will therefore come from misuse, misadventure or misalignment with human objectives.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“The AI models being developed today could deliver the energy efficiency needed to beat climate change, stimulate the crop yields required to feed the world, detect signs of chronic diseases or pandemics and better manage supply chains so everyone has access to the materials and goods they need and enhance productivity in both businesses and Governments. In fact, every single challenge discussed at this year’s General Assembly and more could be improved or even solved by AI Perhaps the most exciting thing is that AI can be a democratizing tool open to everyone. Just as we have seen digital adoption sweep across the developing world. AI has the potential to empower millions of people in every part of our planet, giving everyone, wherever they are. the ability to be part of this revolution. AI can and should be a tool for all.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“Member States believe that humans are on the path to decoding the mysteries of the smallest particles or the farthest reaches of our universe, if Member States think that the Millennium Prize Problems are ultimately solvable or that we will eventually fully understand viruses, then Member States will surely agree that, by adding to the sum total of our intelligence at potentially dizzying scales, frontier AI will unlock at least some of those answers on an expedited timetable in our lifetimes. Because in AI time, years are days, even hours. The frontier is not as far away as we might assume. That brings with it great opportunities.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“They could not surely have respectively envisaged the illumination of the New York skyline at night or the wonders of the modern Internet, but they suspected the transformative power of their inventions. Frontier AI. with the capacity to process the entirety of human knowledge in seconds, has the potential not just to transform our lives, but to reimagine our understanding of science. If. like me.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.
“It is going to change the United Nations fundamentally. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest transformation the world has known. Our task as Governments is to understand it. grasp it and seek to govern it. and we must do so at speed. Think how much has changed in a few short months, and then think how different the world will look in five years’ or ten years’ time. We are fast becoming familiar with the AI of today, but we need to prepare for the AI of tomorrow. At this frontier, we need to accept that we simply do not know the bounds of possibilities. We are as Edison was before the light came on or as Tim Berners-Lee was before the first email was sent.”
UN General Assembly2023English text as published by the United Nations. The speech may have been delivered in another official UN language.Source: United NationsSpeech held by session and year. Its individual meeting record is not yet linked.
English text from the UN verbatim record. Where the speaker did not speak English, this is the UN's interpretation, not their original words.