Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare and scientific research at an unprecedented pace, helping scientists predict the structures of more than 200 million proteins, accelerate drug discovery, support vaccine development and advance research into antibiotic resistance, according to a new United Nations report.
The report, released on Wednesday by the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, says AI is delivering major benefits across healthcare, agriculture, education and other sectors, but warns that global governance is failing to keep pace with the technology’s rapid evolution.
The preliminary assessment will be presented to governments during the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance scheduled for July 6-7 in Geneva. It is the first independent global scientific assessment of AI, with a comprehensive report expected in 2027.
According to the panel, AI is already improving food security by powering early warning systems that identify food shortages before they become crises.
In healthcare, AI is enabling doctors to detect diseases such as breast cancer earlier, while health workers in developing countries are using AI tools in local languages to improve patient care.
The report also notes that AI is expanding opportunities for scientific research, making technology more accessible to people with disabilities and supporting personalised education and mental health services.
Despite these advances, the panel cautions that the opportunity to establish effective global AI governance may not remain open for long.
It says that, if deployed responsibly, AI could significantly accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals by improving healthcare, education, agriculture, scientific research and accessibility.
However, without adequate safeguards, the technology could widen inequality, spread misinformation, undermine human rights, disrupt labour markets and concentrate power in the hands of a small number of governments and technology companies.
The report says AI capabilities have advanced rapidly in recent years, driven by powerful computing systems, vast amounts of training data and improved machine-learning techniques.
These developments have produced AI systems capable of sophisticated conversations, scientific reasoning, software development and generating highly realistic images, audio and video.
It adds that modern AI “agents” are increasingly able to plan tasks, use digital tools, write software and complete complex assignments with little or no human supervision.
Researchers cited in the report say the complexity of tasks AI systems can perform has been doubling every few months.
The panel also identifies significant risks associated with the technology, including the spread of online abuse, misinformation, cybercrime, fraud, mental health challenges and environmental impacts.
According to the report, AI could facilitate the creation of child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit deepfakes, with women and children particularly vulnerable.
It also warns that AI-generated false information is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from factual content, posing threats to public trust and democratic processes.
The report notes that criminals are already using AI to launch cyberattacks, conduct financial fraud and carry out sophisticated social engineering scams.
It further warns that some AI systems can reinforce harmful beliefs or behaviours, potentially contributing to mental health crises, including suicide, while increasingly autonomous AI systems could become more difficult to monitor without stronger oversight.
The panel also raises concerns about the environmental impact of AI, noting that the energy-intensive data centres powering advanced AI systems contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
The report highlights major global disparities in AI development and access.
It says the United States controls about three-quarters of the computing power behind the world’s leading AI supercomputers, while China accounts for about 15 per cent, giving the two countries roughly 90 per cent of global AI computing capacity.
Most advanced AI models are also being developed by companies based in those two countries.
Many developing countries, the report says, lack the computing infrastructure, technical expertise, investment, data and local-language resources needed to develop or effectively deploy AI technologies.
As a result, they often rely on AI systems they cannot independently build, inspect, audit or adapt to local needs.
The panel warns that unless these disparities are addressed, AI could reinforce existing global inequalities rather than help reduce them.
It calls for stronger international cooperation, independent evaluation and common global standards to ensure AI systems remain safe, transparent and accountable.
The report also urges governments to invest in digital infrastructure, education, technical capacity and institutions to enable countries to develop, govern and deploy AI technologies on their own terms.
Source: (NAN)
