President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General takes seriously the question of the rules for artificial intelligence. The technology advances faster than the laws meant to govern it, and the vacuum fills on its own, to the benefit of those who build it.
A borderless technology, scattered rules. Artificial intelligence ignores borders, while its governance stays fragmented: each bloc advances its own standards, and none binds everyone. A model trained on one continent decides on another, with no common rule following it. The gap between the speed of the technology and the slowness of the law is the real risk.
A common framework, decided together. In September 2024, states adopted at the United Nations a Global Digital Compact, a first attempt at a shared framework for the digital sphere and artificial intelligence. The work has barely begun. The Secretary-General does not code the models, but holds a rare capacity, that of bringing states around one table before accomplished facts stand in for law.
Avoiding a two-speed world. The rules of artificial intelligence cannot be decided among a few capitals and a few companies. A framework written without the majority of countries would produce a governance the majority would not apply. The voice of the countries that endure the technology without producing it weighs as much as that of the laboratories.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General can place artificial intelligence on the agenda of peace and development, support the scientific advisory body the United Nations have begun to sketch, and recall that trust in a technology is won on verifiable rules, not on promises of self-regulation.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The Global Digital Compact and the report "Governing AI for Humanity" are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net