HAMILTON, Canada 

UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy on Wednesday called for collective action to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) is developed and deployed responsibly, warning that the technology carries both immense opportunities and risks.

"We're staring at a technological frontier of astounding promise and power. No aspect of life, war or peace, will escape deep AI," Lammy warned at the UN Security Council's open debate on artificial intelligence and international peace and security.

He emphasized AI's potential for global peace and security, highlighting that "analysis of situational data holds this promise for peacekeeping, ultra-accurate real-time logistics, ultra-accurate real-time sentiment analysis, and ultra-early warning systems."

Lammy also said that "the risk of deeper instability is immense," as he welcomed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' report on military AI.

He said it is "an opportunity for collective understanding, for us to build new safeguards and guardrails and reaffirm international law as the bedrock of responsible use."

Underscoring AI's impact on climate, he said that "on current trends, artificial intelligence could add the equivalent of a New Japan to world electricity consumption." Yet, he emphasized its potential to "utterly transform efficiency and power our green transitions."

"We are crossing humanity's most profound technological frontier; our lives, our world, our politics, are about to be flooded with super-powerful AI," he said, pledging that "the UK is committed to using AI responsibly, safely, legally and ethically together."

Lammy urged UN member states to ensure that AI "strengthens peace and security."