New York: Europe and the Arabs
The accelerating growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is raising concerns that it could lead to job losses and social unrest. UN experts are focusing on this challenge to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks. Whether you are pessimistic or optimistic about AI, it is impossible to ignore the fact that AI is permeating every aspect of our personal and professional lives. The UN has long advocated for a "people-first" approach to AI, according to the UN Daily News.

In 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council that the fate of humanity "must never be left to the black box of algorithms," and that humans must always retain oversight and control over AI decision-making to ensure respect for human rights.

Since then, the UN has been working to develop a form of global ethical governance for AI, based on the guidelines and recommendations of the Global Digital Charter.

Here are some of the key ideas in this area:
Education is key

The UN consistently emphasizes that education is essential to ensuring that people remain active in an AI-driven future. It's not just about integrating AI tools into the education system; it's also about ensuring that students and teachers are AI-literate.

"The global education system will need 44 million teachers by 2030," says Shafika Ishak, head of the Technology and AI in Education section at UNESCO. "We believe it's wrong to say we need to invest more in AI technologies instead of investing in teachers. AI can manage data transfer, but it cannot manage human development. Education is fundamentally a social, human, and cultural experience, not just a process of downloading technology."

Adapting to Change
Many people around the world are worried about losing their jobs to this technology. This is not surprising, as the World Economic Forum estimated in 2025 that around 41% of employers planned to reduce their workforce due to AI.

At the same time, new roles are likely to emerge that combine human strengths with machine capabilities. While machines excel at pattern recognition and repetitive tasks, they are not as adept at creativity, judgment, ethical reasoning, and complex human-to-human interactions. The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with global research partners, predicted that while AI is likely to impact around a quarter of jobs, this does not necessarily mean a net loss of employment.

However, the way work is done is likely to change dramatically, placing a responsibility on workers to adapt quickly and embrace the idea of ​​continuous learning and training throughout their careers.

Making AI accessible to everyone
A handful of tech giants are leading AI research and dominating the development of new tools. The UN is concerned that unless access to this technology is broadened, inequality will increase between countries and within societies.

The UN's strategies emphasize the need for education, economic, and governance policies to ensure that the benefits of AI are widely distributed and not limited to privileged or technologically advanced groups.

Human rights first
The UN has repeatedly stressed that the development of AI must respect human rights, dignity, and inclusivity, and has warned that unchecked automation could deepen social divisions. In 2021, following extensive consultations with global experts, UNESCO issued a recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence, which affirms that human rights cannot be optional ethical considerations but must be the binding basis for AI systems. The document emphasizes the need to restrict or prohibit tools that threaten dignity, equality, or freedom, and that governments must regulate and effectively enforce these standards.

Agreement on a way forward
This is not an issue that a national government, the private sector, or civil society can address alone, and the United Nations is calling for international cooperation.

This cooperation could take the form of dialogues on governance and ethics, UN-supported platforms for coordination, and public-private partnerships to finance education and workforce development.

Africa as an example
For Africa—where digital infrastructure, data availability, and skills gaps remain unequal—the age of AI presents both a promising and a perilous moment. Data governance, algorithmic bias, job losses, and limited regulatory capacity are among the key concerns facing African policymakers. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Africa represents nearly 18% of the world's population but accounts for less than 1% of global data center capacity.

On the positive side, artificial intelligence (AI) can be a key driver in accelerating the development of African economies for the benefit of all. There are countless examples of AI being used to improve people's lives, from early warning systems that help predict drought in the Horn of Africa to machine learning tools that enhance disease monitoring and diagnosis.

The key to ensuring Africa benefits from this potential lies in investing in local data, skills, and research, and in developing more inclusive and multilingual AI systems.