GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) — Developments in artificial intelligence are outpacing scientific understanding and government policy, meaning there are no guarantees the technology will not cause catastrophic harm, a United Nations independent panel warned on Wednesday.

A preliminary report by the UN’s Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence said policymakers face a growing dilemma: they need robust evidence to regulate AI effectively, yet such evidence is struggling to keep pace with the technology’s rapid evolution.

“AI capabilities are outpacing both scientific understanding and governments’ ability to adapt,” said Yoshua Bengio, co-chair of the panel, comprised of 40 cross-regional experts.

“With growing evidence of deceptive AI behaviour, science currently cannot guarantee that as capabilities continue to increase, AI will not cause catastrophic harm, either on its own or due to malicious users.”

Described as the first global independent assessment of AI’s risks and opportunities, the report aims to give up-to-date evaluations of the science to help guide decision-making as governments contend with fast-evolving systems.

In the near term, it expects a shift towards agentic AI systems capable of carrying out real-world tasks, although growth may be constrained by energy and high-quality data shortages. Over time, it foresees self-improving AI embedded more deeply in the economy and converging with........

© The Times of Israel