Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaks during a plenary session in the Congress Hall during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres ratcheted up his warning about climate change and said the world's thirst for fossil fuels is a "Frankenstein monster" that spares no one, while calling for greater attention to risks posed by artificial intelligence if its ascent goes ungoverned — even as some leaders played up its promise.
The United Nations' chief headlined a flurry of activities and talk sessions on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, where shifts underway in Washington during U.S. President Donald Trump's first week back in office also featured heavily in the scheduled events and side chats of government officials, academics and business executives.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy combed the corridors, meeting with leaders such as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, as well as German opposition leader and would-be chancellor Friedrich Merz in an effort to stir up support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.
With energy and tech industry executives on hand, Guterres returned to one of his most frequent appeals: for the world to do more to fight global warming.
Trump's promises to " drill, baby, drill " and an array of worries about economic growth in some big but moribund economies in Europe and beyond have rattled public and private commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
Guterres bemoaned how 2024 was the hottest year on record, and warned of rising sea levels that could overwhelm ports that ship oil in and out.
"And rising temperatures, which are, overwhelmingly, caused by burning fossil fuels," he said. "Our fossil fuel addiction is a Frankenstein monster, sparing nothing and no one. All around us, we see clear signs that the monster has become master."
Companies that have recently backtracked on their climate commitments are "on the wrong side of history," he added.
The U.N. chief lauded the promise of artificial intelligence, saying it could revolutionize learning, help improve health care and support farmers with tools that boost productivity.
"But with this promise comes profound risk, especially if AI is left ungoverned," he said. warning that it could be used "as a tool of deception," erode trust in institutions, disrupt labor markets and affect the conduct of war.
Trump on Tuesday announced a joint U.S. venture that plans to invest up to $500 billion for infrastructure linked to AI though a new partnership formed by Oracle, SoftBank and OpenAI.
The Stargate project's goal us to build out data centers and the electricity generation needed by voracious power needs of fast-evolving AI in Texas, the White House said.
Julie Sweet, chief executive officer of Accenture, the multinational information technology and consulting firm, hailed the Stargate investment as an "absolute validation that AI is important for companies and countries."
She said the United States appeared set to maintain its approach toward AI of innovation first, then applying "appropriate guardrails" — unlike other places that put the guardrails first.
"AI will not be successful if people don't trust it," Sweet told The Associated Press. "So I'm not worried about it (being) too deregulated because the interests of making sure AI is trusted are aligned across all groups."
Challenge, promise with AI
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country will have to "navigate" AI but will push it "on a faster pace, partly because of my age: we don't have time to wait."
Anwar was speaking in Davos after the Southeast Asian nation and its neighbor Singapore struck a deal to create a special economic zone that would ramp up job creation and lure investment.
"AI is, of course, a new challenge. We don't have the expertise (or) knowhow," he said. "But AI means changing the education system, health services, blockchain, so it will have to come about."