UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments Monday to adopt global rules for artificial intelligence, warning that its expanding military use and risks to children are advancing faster than international safeguards. Addressing the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on July 6, Guterres said increasingly powerful AI chips designed for civilian use are shifting to the battlefield, where “killer robots” are already the norm. He called for a global governance framework that places safety, human rights, and accountability at its core while ensuring developing countries are not excluded. Guterres said any future international agreement on AI must be “worthy of global trust” and prioritize safety, especially for children vulnerable to digitally generated manipulation and abuse. He proposed an AI Child Safety Pledge, requiring child-specific safety testing before AI systems are made accessible to children, independent oversight, a prohibition on generating sexual images of children, and ensuring children showing signs of distress are connected with human support. The appeal comes as the UN intensifies efforts to establish international governance for AI, following the UN’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI calling for global oversight in 2023 and the 2024 Pact for the Future and Global Digital Compact providing a mandate. In June, the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence warned that AI could “cause catastrophic harm, either on its own or due to malicious users,” while the technology is “outpacing both scientific understanding and governments’ ability to adapt.”