Why António Guterres believes the UN should lead on AI: Exclusive interview

- YouTube

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned at last year’s General Assembly, “It’s reform or rupture.” But reforming the UN to meet the economic and political realities of today’s world, one dividing it further into coalitions and blocs, is no easy task. In an exclusive interview for GZERO World, Guterres sat with Ian Bremmer on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss his vision for the future of the UN during his last term in office. Between ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the climate crisis threatening the lives of millions, a broken Security Council, and the growing power (and existential risk) of AI, there’s a lot to discuss. Can the UN adapt for the future? Can it show the world multilateralism still has a place amid all the fragmentation? Guterres believes change is always possible as long as there is will and determination.

“The United Nations has one important characteristic: Its legitimacy,” Guterres says, “It's a platform where everybody can be together.”

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).

More from GZERO Media

Climate change disproportionately affects populations that are hardest to reach in the world — those underserved for geographic, administrative, or social reasons. Many of these people, however, have shown ingenuity in their response to changing habitats and economic challenges. Reach Alliance was founded in 2015 as a partnership between the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to study examples of development strategies for climate-vulnerable communities around the world. The alliance seeks examples of critical interventions that help far-flung and/or impoverished communities deal with climate change. Learn more here.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast for an exclusive conversation from the sidelines of the General Assembly at a critical moment for the world and the UN itself. Amid so many ongoing crises, is meaningful reform at the world’s largest multilateral institution possible? Between ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the climate crisis threatening the lives of millions, and a broken Security Council, there’s a lot to discuss.

Boys scouts carry a picture of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the funeral of Hezbollah member Ali Mohamed Chalbi, after hand-held radios and pagers used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon, in Kfar Melki, Lebanon September 19, 2024.
REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Israeli warplanes struck dozens of targets across south Lebanon Thursday and conducted a raid on the town of al-Haniyeh, which it claims was targeting Hezbollah missiles and infrastructure.

Jamaican and Belizean security personnel disembark from a U.S. Coast Guard airplane in a deployment to support an international security mission aimed at fighting gangs, at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti September 12, 2024.
REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

Holding a representative election will be impossible until the security situation improves dramatically, particularly in Port-au-Prince — and it may require compromise instead of coercion.

FILE PHOTO: UN General Assembly votes at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, U.S. May 23, 2024.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

Today marks the first major day of the UN General Assembly, a forum where the UN’s 193 member states gather to debate global problems and work toward solutions.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023.
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Musk deleted the post after some resistance and issued another claiming it was a joke — but the Secret Service isn’t known for its sense of humor.