U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and her Moroccan counterpart, Ambassador Omar Hilale, presented the first-ever UN resolution on artificial intelligence to the international press on Thursday. The presentation of the initiative took place during a press conference at UN headquarters in New York, attended by ambassadors and representatives of more than fifty UN Member States from all regions of the world. Only the U.S. and Moroccan ambassadors spoke at the event, introducing the resolution titled «Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development». The choice by the United States to involve Morocco as the main co-sponsor of this unprecedented resolution in the history of the United Nations reflects the solidity and strength of the U.S.-Morocco strategic partnership. This consensus resolution calls for further discussions on appropriate governance approaches based on international law, interoperability, adaptability, inclusivity, and responsiveness to the diverse needs and capacities of developed and developing countries. The resolution urges Member States to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems to address global challenges, including poverty elimination, global health, food security, climate change, energy, and education. Speaking at the press conference on behalf of the countries involved in this initiative, Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that AI has enormous potential to shape economies, societies, and the world for the better. She emphasized the need to ensure these benefits extend globally to countries at all levels of development. She added that the text establishes a shared vision for AI systems to be human-centric, reliable, ethical, inclusive, privacy-preserving, responsible, and oriented towards sustainable development and protecting human rights and international law. In turn, Ambassador Hilale congratulated the United States for this initiative and its decision to involve Morocco from the outset. He stressed the importance of dialogue among UN Member States to ensure this evolving technology serves the common good. Morocco, he said, emphasized during the negotiation process the need for AI systems that bridge social, digital, and economic divides between developed and developing countries, «not that pushes further apart». Hilale further noted the numerous potential benefits of AI for developing countries, particularly African nations, in areas like health, agriculture, education, climate action, and economic growth. To maximize these benefits, he highlighted the critical importance of investing in AI research and infrastructure to narrow the digital divide between nations. The Ambassador reiterated Morocco's full support for the «extremely important» topic of artificial intelligence and the pivotal role of international cooperation in this field to ensure it serves humanity's best interests.
