Wong Warns UN Security Council of AI Risk

AI’s extraordinary promise could give way to major risks, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the U.N. Security Council, warning the technology must not be left unchecked in military or nuclear domains.

“AI’s potential use in nuclear weapons and unmanned systems challenges the future of humanity,” Wong told delegates in New York on Sept. 26 (AEST).

“Decisions of life and death must never be delegated to machines,” she added.

While praising AI’s promise in areas such as education, health, and climate, Wong cautioned that the same technology posed significant risks if deployed without safeguards.

“These weapons threaten to change war itself and they risk escalation without warning,” she said.

‘Collapse of Truth’: Wong Concerned with AI-Generated Reality

Her concerns stretched beyond battlefields, pointing to AI’s role in spreading disinformation.

“While once we grappled to discern fact from propaganda, we are now witness to a collapse of truth altogether,” she said.

“Content deliberately designed to deceive is now almost indistinguishable from reality. False voices, fabricated images, manufactured narratives, algorithms amplifying fiction masquerading as fact. And together, this risks destabilising societies and deepening divisions.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres reinforced the concern, telling the Council: “The ability to fabricate and manipulate audio and video threatens information integrity, fuels polarisation and can trigger diplomatic crises … humanity’s fate cannot be left to an algorithm.”