UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a sharp and timely warning: the global community must immediately begin creating unified rules to regulate advanced artificial intelligence systems. His points cover the full spectrum of threats — from protecting children to banning autonomous lethal weapons systems.
Guterres described the current situation as an "experiment on societies without a plan and without consent," emphasizing that the speed of AI adoption is unprecedented. If the internet took 15 years to attract its first billion users, ChatGPT reached 100 million in just two months. This creates three key risks: the rapid spread of technology, the concentration of computing power and data in the hands of a narrow circle of corporations and countries, and the degradation of the information environment.
Guterres paid special attention to so-called "vibe coding" — a metaphor for passive AI management, where systems operate without understanding their internal mechanisms and consequences. "We cannot vibe-code the truth. We cannot vibe-code the future of humanity," he stated, emphasizing that the choice is not between believing in AI and fearing it, but between conscious management and passive drift.
Protecting Children and Banning "Killer Robots"
One of Guterres' top priorities was protecting children. He called on companies to adopt the AI Child Safety Pledge, which includes three principles: mandatory testing and independent oversight for AI systems accessible to children; zero tolerance for generating sexualized images of minors; and immediate connection to real human support if a chatbot detects signs of a crisis state in a child. "No child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI," the Secretary-General stressed.
Equally resonant was the demand to ban lethal autonomous weapons systems under international law — machines capable of selecting and engaging targets without human control. Guterres directly called them "killer robots," characterizing such systems as "morally repugnant" and "politically unacceptable." He warned that states should not wait for a tragedy to begin acting.
Digital Divide and Energy Consumption
Guterres also raised the issue of digital inequality. He proposed creating a global AI fund to help developing countries gain access to high-performance computing, open data, and models. According to him, the digital divide should not turn into an AI divide, and then into a divide in development, security, and sovereignty.
Separately, the Secretary-General pointed to the rapid growth in energy consumption by data centers, which already consume more electricity than most countries. By 2030, he predicted, they could surpass all but five countries in this regard.
Analytical Commentary: Guterres' statements are not just political rhetoric, but a clear signal to the market. The crypto industry, which is already facing strict regulation, should closely monitor these processes. AI and blockchain are increasingly intersecting, and if AI regulation becomes stringent, it could also affect decentralized projects. The question is not whether regulation will happen, but what form it will take — and whether we are ready for it.