UNITED NATIONS — Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.
The annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar, and a persisting question: Can the leaders do anything to end them?
And what can they do about the relentless rise of global warming threatening the future of the planet, the growing inequalities within and among nations, and shocks to the global economy as blocked shipping routes and supply chains increase the cost of living and slow growth?
The future of the UN will also definitely be on the agenda. At 81, its powers are still the victorious nations from World War II, not the 21st century’s major global players.
The UN’s 193 member nations have agreed to a wide-ranging reform package that includes updating key institutions such as the powerful UN Security Council, where the US, Russia, China, Britain and France hold inordinate sway because of their veto power. Reform, however, is easier said than implemented.
Behind the scenes, there will be speculation about who will lead the UN next. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ second five-year term ends on Dec. 31, and no clear successor has emerged.
There is still no question that the UN remains THE gathering place for its 193 member nations and their leaders. Some 130 heads of state and government are expected to speak at the General Assembly starting Tuesday along with dozens of ministers.
Among the headliners will be US President Donald Trump and French President Emanuel Macron.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — whom New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani wanted arrested for his treatment of Palestinians in Gaza until he learned he has no such authority — will address the assembly on Thursday.
For a second year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won’t be coming to the UN because the US has refused to give him a visa. He will nonetheless address the assembly by video the same day.
Equally telling is who else isn’t coming. China’s President Xi Jinping is meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, yet he is skipping — some diplomats say snubbing — the UN gathering and sending a vice president instead. Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t coming either, and Indian President Narendra Modi has backed out.
France’s UN ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, said it is “extremely critical” for world leaders this week to support the UN as the place where the world’s nations meet — especially at a time of such polarization.
AI is pushing toward the center of the agenda
The future of artificial intelligence has pushed to the forefront of global concerns, with its speeding advances and the dawning recognition that there are no industry controls, let alone any global guardrails for a technology that has many advantages but also many disadvantages and unknowns.
Days before the global gathering, leaders of three major AI companies warned about the technology getting out of human control and called for a pause, but Trump dismissed their concerns as “a hoax,” and urged continued advances to keep the US ahead of China.
The UN Security Council added a high-level meeting on AI to its agenda on Wednesday afternoon, a sign of the growing apprehension and need to address the issue. It was already slated to hold a high-level meeting on Ukraine with Zelenskyy on Wednesday morning.
For the UN chief, this will be his last assembly meeting with global leaders. He previewed his speech last week, telling UN reporters that power is shifting in “an era of deep uncertainty.”
“At a time when the world faces three existential threats,” he said, “international cooperation is more necessary than ever.”
