UNITED NATIONS, September 16 — António Guterres walked into the briefing room at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday with a message he has been building toward for months: the world, he told reporters, has entered “an era of deep uncertainty.” The UN Secretary-General spoke six days before world leaders arrive for the General Assembly’s high-level week, and he used the runway to name what he considers the three existential threats of the moment — runaway artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and deepening inequalities.
His answer to all three was the same. “International cooperation is more necessary than ever,” he said.
Nearly half the briefing, on AI
Guterres devoted close to half his remarks to artificial intelligence, a subject that has moved from the margins of UN diplomacy to its center. He recognized AI’s “enormous potential” in health, education and climate, then warned that the world “cannot afford to ignore concerns” that development is outpacing human understanding of the risks. He acknowledged “geopolitical divides” as fears mount of an AI arms race between the United States and China, and said voluntary pauses on AI development will not work if they are isolated to only a few countries.
“The world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety,” he said. His proposed instrument is the UN-founded Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, which he said will inform global discussions by providing the best available evidence on AI’s opportunities and risks.
He called for guardrails that “make AI safe, transparent and accountable, with human dignity at the centre.”
Middle East: ‘de-escalation must be priority one’
On the Middle East, Guterres reiterated calls for a two-State solution and said Israel’s annexation of the West Bank “must stop.” He highlighted the decimation of Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people. All parties to the conflict, he said, must respect navigational rights in the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab Straits and must not harm civilians. “At this crucial moment in the Middle East, de-escalation must be priority one, priority two and priority three,” he said.
On Ukraine, more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Guterres said there is “no end in sight” and called for an immediate ceasefire as the first step toward a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace.” The General Assembly is expected to debate both conflicts next week. Guterres acknowledged the need to reform global institutions, including the UN itself, but stressed that the organization’s promises to maintain peace and protect human rights remain unchanged.
“Updating our structures can never mean abandoning our principles – it must mean applying those principles with even greater determination,” he said. He called on Member States to uphold the UN Charter, defend international law, protect human rights, invest in sustainable development and push for peace everywhere, urging leaders to pursue “de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue.” What to watch next: the General Assembly’s high-level week opens in six days, with both the Middle East and Ukraine set for debate and Guterres’s AI panel positioned to shape the conversation.
