With artificial intelligence sprinting ahead of the world’s ability to police it, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a blunt warning: without globally aligned safeguards, the technology could race into children’s lives long before anyone knows the cost — and “no child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI”.
Speaking in Geneva at the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Mr Guterres pressed for a global governance system that can steer AI toward the public good, arguing the world cannot afford to let the technology “vibe-code” people’s future.
“AI is already transforming our world; the question is whether we will shape this transformation together, or let it shape us,” Mr Guterres told the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva.
‘Vibe-coding’
He said so-called “vibe-coding” — where AI is allowed to write code and directly control machines — can “do wonders”. But, he cautioned, humanity cannot surrender the direction of its own future to systems operating without firm oversight or agreed limits.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against letting AI shape the future unchecked
Mr Guterres also warned that this may be the last generation able to decide the terms on which humans and machines coexist, urging governments to treat today’s choices as decisive rather than incremental.
Delegates will consider a report by a UN-backed independent scientific panel of 40 experts, who will present their findings from the first global, independent scientific assessment of AI.
A more comprehensive report is planned next year, alongside a second global meeting in New York.
Concentration of power
Among the dangers he spotlighted was the concentration of power: AI capability, he said, is increasingly held by a small cluster of companies — and a small number of countries — leaving much of the world watching from the sidelines.
Most countries “have had no say in decisions that will shape their futures”, he warned.
Framed in stark terms, Mr Guterres said governments now face a choice, “between governing by design and drifting by default” — either setting rules deliberately or accepting whatever outcomes emerge.
He pointed to AI’s promise across day-to-day life and long-term development, from speeding up progress in lower-income regions to improving healthcare and widening access to education.
But he argued those gains will not be automatic or evenly shared unless progress is anchored to clear priorities, including safety and respect for human rights, so people everywhere can benefit rather than a privileged few.
Mr Guterres called for “common methods to evaluate and verify risks” and jointly-agreed standards, particularly for ensuring the safety of children accessing AI systems.
“We do not let medicine reach a child until it is proven safe; we test every toy,” he said.
“Yet AI has reached our children – their learning, their friendships, their most private questions – before anyone asked what it would do to them,” he added.
To confront that reality, Mr Guterres urged the creation of an AI Child Safety Pledge that would require companies to prove any system children can access is safe, with zero tolerance for sexual abuse.
He said such systems must also be designed to connect any child showing signs of distress to real human support, rather than leaving vulnerable users alone with automated replies.
“No child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI,” he insisted.
Delegates at the conference heard a call for an AI Child Safety Pledge
‘Killer robots’
Mr Guterres also argued that expanding AI capacity and access in developing countries is essential, warning that the existing digital divide could quickly “harden into an AI divide” if talent, data and computing power remain concentrated.
Mr Guterres said he would urge the UN General Assembly to create a Global Fund for AI, “to build skills, data and affordable computing power everywhere”.
He also highlighted the need to curb AI’s climate impact, repeating his call for companies to disclose their growing environmental footprint and to commit to powering every data centre with renewable energy by 2030.
His gravest concern, however, focused on the use of AI in military settings — particularly lethal autonomous weapon systems.
“Let us call them what they are: Killer robots,” he said.
“Machines selecting and engaging their target and taking a life, without human control and judgement”.
“That is morally repugnant… And it must be banned by international law.”
Returning to the stakes of the moment, Mr Guterres said the world needs guardrails strong enough — and urgent enough — to keep AI moving in a positive direction.
“We may be the last generation able to set the terms on which humanity and machines coexist,” he said.
“The door is still open. It will not stay open long.”
