Why AGI Should be A Top Priority for the World

“Why AGI Should be the World’s Top Priority”, recently published by Horizons international relations journal Jerome Glenn illustrates the urgent need for national and global governance of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), calling it the most critical issue of our time.

Glenn, CEO of The Millennium Project and Chairman of the AGI Panel of the UN Council of Presidents of the General Assembly, explains that although the global debate on AI is often clouded by the confusion among narrow, general, and superintelligence, the true priority must now be ensuring a safe and well-governed transition from narrow AI (ANI) to artificial general intelligence (AGI).

He warns that without adequate regulation, humanity risks losing control over a non-biological intelligence that could surpass human comprehension, autonomy, and influence. In contrast, if properly managed, AGI could solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges—from disease and climate change to global education and poverty.

This is why The Millennium Project has taken a leading role in developing a global framework for AGI governance. Governing AGI, Glenn writes, is “the most complex, difficult management problem humanity has ever faced.” To support safer development, The Millennium Project conducted an international assessment that began with 22 AGI-critical questions posed to 55 experts from the U.S., China, UK, Canada, EU, and Russia. Their insights led to a range of proposed regulatory models and governance mechanisms, which were then evaluated by a global panel of 299 experts—including futurists, diplomats, scientists, philosophers, and international lawyers—from 47 countries.

According to Glenn, a dedicated UN Framework Convention on AGI, a global observatory, certification systems, and a feasibility study for a specialized UN agency on AGI are among the necessary steps to prevent catastrophic outcomes and ensure that the benefits of AGI are distributed equitably and safely. He urges immediate, unprecedented global cooperation to prevent history from repeating the failures seen in delayed climate action.

“If we approach establishing governance of AGI in a business-as-usual fashion, then it is possible that many future forms of AGI and ASI will be permeating the Internet, making future attempts at regulation irrelevant.” The time to act is now, Glenn says

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