UN Creates Advisory Body to Address AI Governance

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement in New York, New York, USA, 25 October 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement in New York, New York, USA, 25 October 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
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UN Creates Advisory Body to Address AI Governance

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement in New York, New York, USA, 25 October 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement in New York, New York, USA, 25 October 2023. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body to address issues in the international governance of artificial intelligence.

Members include tech company executives, government officials, and academics from different countries.

Representatives come from six continents with diverse backgrounds.

"The transformative potential of AI for good is difficult even to grasp," Guterres said in a statement.

"And without entering into a host of doomsday scenarios, it is already clear that the malicious use of AI could undermine trust in institutions, weaken social cohesion and threaten democracy itself," he said.



OpenAI Launches Free AI Training Course for Teachers

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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OpenAI Launches Free AI Training Course for Teachers

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)

OpenAI and non-profit partner Common Sense Media have launched a free training course for teachers aimed at demystifying artificial intelligence and prompt engineering, the organizations said on Wednesday.

The move comes as OpenAI is stepping up efforts to highlight the positive role in education of its ChatGPT chatbot whose launch in November 2022 kicked off a generative AI craze and made it one of the world's fastest-growing applications.

Trained on reams of data, generative AI can create brand-new humanlike content, helping users spin up term papers, complete science homework and even write entire novels.

ChatGPT's launch - in the middle of the school year - caught teachers off-guard when they realized it could be used as a cheating and plagiarism tool, which then sparked a backlash and school bans.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft and other investors and valued at $157 billion in its last funding round, has formed a dedicated team to support what it says is the responsible use of AI in education and learning, led by former Coursera executive Leah Belsky.

"My goal in this role is to put AI into the hands of every student and every teacher... and also give them the skills to learn how to do it responsibly and effectively," Belsky told Reuters. Belsky said that student adoption of ChatGPT is "very, very high," and parents are generally supportive, viewing AI skills as essential for future careers.

The training course, targeted at kindergarten through 12th grade teachers, shows them how to use the ChatGPT chatbot product for various education use cases, such as to create lesson content or streamline department meetings. Available on Common Sense Media's website, it is the first offering in OpenAI's partnership with Common Sense Media.