More than 50 members of the United Nations have joined the U.S. in pursuing a draft resolution to establish artificial intelligence (AI) safety guidelines. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Thursday read a statement that discussed the draft resolution titled ‘Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development,’ which would aim to ‘articulate a shared approach to AI systems.’ 

‘The resolution calls on Member States to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems to address the world’s greatest challenges, including those related to poverty elimination, global health, food security, climate, energy, and education,’ Thomas-Greenfield said in a prepared statement. 

‘We are resolved to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries through capacity building, increasing digital literacy, and other actions,’ she added. 

International consensus on AI policy has remained a central focus for major nations as public attention on the technology rose sharply in 2023. The U.K. hosted an international safety summit in Bletchley Park, where world leaders discussed their concerns and signed a declaration. 

Signatories to the Bletchley Declaration — which included the U.S., the U.K., China, Saudi Arabia and members of the European Union, among others — needed to establish their own safety commissions as well as commit to pursuing a shared policy for nations to follow. 

The European Commission last week opened its AI office, which the bloc believed would serve as a ‘global reference point’ for AI safety policy, along with the E.U. AI Act, which the commission touts as the world’s first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. 

The U.S., for its part, established the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute under the National Institute of Standards of Technology following the safety summit, looking to ‘facilitate the development of standards for safety, security, and testing of AI models,’ among other tasks.

In pursuit of international policy, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told The Associated Press that the U.S. turned to the General Assembly ‘to have a truly global conversation on how to manage the implications of the fast-advancing technology of AI.’

To that end, the U.S. negotiated with the full 193-member body of the United Nations about three months ago, receiving input from about 120 nations and working through several drafts. The resolution will receive formal consideration later this month.  

‘As AI technologies rapidly develop, there is urgent need and unique opportunities for Member States to meet this critical moment with collective action,’ Thomas-Greenfield argued. 

The U.S. has proposed that creating a shared policy would also align with the mission of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is a U.N. plan of action that seeks to ‘strengthen universal peace in larger freedom.’ 

Chiefly, the agenda mandates that the member states do what they can ‘between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere’ and combat inequalities between and within countries. The U.S. and the fellow members who have supported the new AI resolution therefore have argued that AI can help achieve that ambitious goal. 

The resolution would seek to establish AI systems as ‘human-centric, reliable, explainable, ethical, inclusive, privacy-preserving and responsible, with a sustainable development orientation, and in full respect, promotion and protection of human rights and international laws.’

Other nations supporting the U.S. resolution include Morocco, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Australia, Romania, Israel, Canada, Finland, Greece and other members of the European Union. 

‘Today the EU joined @USUN and ~70 UN Member States to call for a UN General Assembly resolution on seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence systems for sustainable development,’ the European Mission to the United Nations wrote in a statement. ‘We urge all U.N. Member States to co-sponsor & support adoption.’

‘Safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems are essential to harnessing the full potential of this emerging technology,’ Australian Ambassador James Larsen wrote on the social media platform X. ‘Australia [is] proud to co-sponsor the first ever #UNGA resolution on Artificial Intelligence alongside 50 other U.N. member states.’

‘AI has tremendous potential to help humanity, but it must also be used responsibly,’ the United Arab Emirates Mission to the United Nations said, lauding the cooperation of member states to pursue the resolution. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

As Haiti continues to struggle with rampant gang violence and with the sudden resignation of its interim Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, this week, experts are warning about the serious consequences a failed Haitian state could have on U.S. national security.

Haiti has been in a near constant state of chaos since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which not only brought with it unchecked corruption and poverty but also an increase in violence.

Some 70,000 Haitians flocked to the U.S. border in 2023 as gang violence surged, and American leaders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remain concerned there could be another influx of migrants, though experts are warning the threat to U.S. security could reach beyond migration woes. 

‘A failed state controlled by criminals, drug traffickers, mass murderers and gangs so close to U.S. soil is not in the foreign policy interests of the U.S.,’ Eddy Acevedo, chief of staff and senior adviser at the Wilson Center think tank told Fox News Digital. 

‘[The] greatest threat facing the U.S. regarding Haiti is further instability in the country, which could endanger the lives of millions of Haitians and risk a mass migration.’

While migration remains a top concern for many in the U.S., Juan Cruz, a former National Security Council senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, told Fox News Digital the consequences of the complete collapse of Haiti cannot be overlooked. 

‘It’s not in anyone’s interest to have Haiti upside down,’ Cruz said. ‘Do we want a lawless Haiti that makes it a friendly place for drug traffickers to be that much closer to the U.S. or use it as a steppingstone to what we usually call our third border? Or do we want them to create a crisis in the Dominican Republic next door, where we have a friendly government to the U.S.?’

Haitian gangs have not only killed over 3,700 people. They have taken over 80% of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, shut down the airport and released thousands of inmates from two of the nation’s biggest prisons, prompting an international response.  

‘The utmost priority now must be to address the security situation in Haiti. Without stabilizing Haiti’s security environment, elections and a viable political solution cannot move forward,’ Acevedo explained. ‘Haiti’s National Police are trying to confront and push back the gangs, but the cavalry must arrive soon or else Haiti will fall.’ 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto in a move to encourage the African nation to send in the 1,000-strong police force it pledged last year under a Multinational Security Support Mission.

The U.S., the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Canada, France, Brazil and Mexico have also pushed for the establishment of a transitional government to thwart the gang takeover.

Cruz noted it is not only in the interest of Haitians to establish a stable government to quash the violence because it could mean a lengthy stay for any nation that becomes directly involved.

‘The problem is those countries, they’ve all been bit,’ Cruz said, referring to the U.S., France, Brazil and Canada, 

‘Everybody’s been in, and everybody’s paid the price. We’ve all been there. We’ve all seen this movie play out, and it doesn’t end well. I fear that, at some point, we’re going to see boots on the ground that are not Kenyan.’

Some Russian voters have done more than vote to express their displeasure with sitting President Vladimir Putin, going so far as to commit acts of vandalism caught on camera that include setting fire to ballot boxes. 

Russian authorities arrested at least nine people on the first day of voting in an election that analysts and observers around the world have no doubt will hand Putin another term as leader, making him the longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. 

Several people, caught on camera, set polling stations and voting booths on fire in protest. In other locations, one woman poured green dye into a ballot box, a man set off fireworks in a polling station and in Russian-occupied Ukraine someone set off an explosive device, French outlet Le Monde reported. 

A woman who poured disinfectant into a ballot box at a Moscow polling station faces between three and five years for her act, during which she shouted pro-Ukrainian slogans, Russian outlet BAZA reported. 

Authorities have not said whether they believe the incidents may be part of a larger, coordinated effort and protest or simply random incidents, despite the repeated use of green liquid to spoil ballots. The use of green liquid may serve as a reference to late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who in 2017 was attacked by an assailant splashing green disinfectant in his face. 

Prosecutors warned that the government would punish anybody involved in mass rallies and protests. The Associated Press reported that as many as a dozen incidents had occurred on the first day, though it remains unclear if all incidents led to arrests. 

Voting will take place through Sunday, but more than a third of voters had cast their ballots by the time polls closed on Friday night. Voting has occurred both in-person and online, with online voting remaining open around the clock until 8 p.m. local time on Sunday. 

The U.N. Security Council met to protest the election being held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. ‘As Russia holds sham elections in the territories of Ukraine temporarily under Russia’s control, the U.K. condemns the elections as fraudulent,’ the U.K. said in a statement, with British Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador James Kariuki claiming, ‘These elections are a sham because of a simple truth: you cannot hold legitimate elections in someone else’s country,’

Navalny, the strongest opponent of Putin’s government, died last month while in an arctic colony after collapsing in what prison officials claimed was a case of ‘sudden death syndrome,’ but an anonymous paramedic claiming to work for a morgue told independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe that he saw bruising on the body consistent with a person being held down while having a seizure.

The Associated Press labeled the remaining opposition candidates as ‘low-level politicians from token opposition parties that support the Kremlin’s line.’ 

European Council President Charles Michel on Friday half-heartedly congratulated Putin for winning the election before polls even closed, saying Putin would have a ‘landslide victory’ with, ‘No opposition. No freedom. No choice.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The U.S. has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to renewed initiatives to help Haiti during its crime crisis in the country, but concerns remain about whether the country will properly utilize the money, according to an expert. 

Haiti received around $13.5 billion in the years following a devastating 2010 earthquake, thanks to an international effort led by the U.S. and the United Nations, around 120% of the country’s GDP at the time.

‘They never rebuilt Port-au-Prince. You’re talking about a city that doesn’t have a sanitation system, doesn’t have basic plumbing and electricity, no basic infrastructure … people can’t get anywhere, they’re walking up and down the dirt,’ said Jack Brewer, a former NFL player and philanthropist who has pursued initiatives to help rebuild Haiti.

Brewer told Fox News Digital that he felt the funding provided after the 2010 earthquake ‘wasn’t properly spent.’ 

‘I got a chance to watch a lot of the things that happened on the ground,’ Brewer said. ‘After the earthquake in 2010, I worked with the NFL Players Association, and we partnered with the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund … it was called the Clinton Haiti Fund … and we raised a lot of money through that, and it started to be allocated.’

‘Then other countries came in and started to allocate a lot of money,’ he added. ‘You would think that the long-term goal was to rebuild the city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas that were impacted by the earthquake, but I was there, and a few years went on, and we’re still working.’

The U.S. has committed to contribute the bulk of funds for a multinational security mission from East Africa to Haiti, led by Kenya and comprised of police from various countries. The Biden administration will pledge another $33 million in general humanitarian aid to the country, bringing the total committed for the effort to $333 million – as America’s national debt tops $34.5 trillion.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the crisis ‘has been a long unfolding story’ and will require the international community to help stabilize the country as gangs continue to run rampant.

‘Having done all this work, we should be in a place where that mission goes forward,’ Blinken said. ‘It will, we believe, help reestablish security and take back control of the country from gangs.’

Jimmy Cherizier, known by the nickname ‘Barbecue,’ runs a gang coalition called the G9 Family and Allies, rising to a level of influence that allows him to block sitting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to the country until he agrees to resign. 

Brewer said he feels that many Haitians ‘believe that America is one of the roots of the problem,’ going back to the Clintons and their rebuilding efforts following the earthquake.

‘They think Washington, D.C., is controlling these leaders that are coming into the country, and, as you can see, most of the leaders are corrupt,’ Brewer claimed. ‘They’re in, and it’s kind of the culture in Haiti: As a politician, once you get there, you get that power so you can enrich yourself.’

When asked about their role in the Haiti recovery, spokespersons for the former president and the secretary told Fox News Digital: ‘The Clintons worked tirelessly to address the needs of the Haitian people in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Even as their detractors have distorted and obfuscated the facts, they have never shied away from doing all they could to lift people up. It’s easy to point fingers from afar for political gain, but it impedes progress, and that’s tragic.’

An expert on Haiti told The Associated Press that after President René Préval left office in 2011, he found subsequent Haitian leaders were at best easy on the gangs and at worst tied to them. 

The gangs have gained influence throughout the previous decades, but their increasing influence and ties with the country’s political leadership allowed them to gain money through a mix of extortion, kidnappings, and drugs and weapons smuggling.

Brewer worries that even without the fear of diverting the funds, he does not have confidence that the new money will prove effective, citing the post-earthquake humanitarian aid and lack of long-lasting improvements.

In a 2016 review of some of the initiatives applied to Haiti following the natural disaster, ABC News found that a $400 million garment factory that promised to create plenty of jobs for the area had ultimately ‘underdelivered.’

‘They’re building infrastructure with no coding,’ he said. ‘They don’t have coding, so if they get hit with another earthquake, the same thing is going to happen.’

The country struggled to cope with a cholera outbreak that started after U.N. peacekeepers accidentally introduced the disease to the island. Around 10,000 people died as a result of the disease.

Part of the issue was that money given to Haiti had already been earmarked for a number of necessary services, such as paying the Red Cross for their on-the-ground assistance, as well as other rescue services.

‘The actual funds left on the ground, a lot of them got into the hands of the wrong people or the folks in power,’ Brewer added, calling the recovery effort ‘the worst handling of a natural disaster in the history of the planet.’ 

‘It’s been very disappointing to see the level of corruption, particularly around things that involve children and youth, and trying to get medical supplies in and out of the country … it has been very difficult,’ he said. 

Regarding the $333 million headed for Haiti in the coming months, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told Fox News Digital that ‘any interference in, or diversion of, humanitarian aid is unacceptable.’

‘USAID takes its duty as a steward of U.S. taxpayer funding seriously and holds implementing partners to the highest standards to ensure that taxpayer funds are used wisely, effectively, and for their intended purposes,’ a USAID spokesperson said. ‘We require our partners to have robust safeguards and risk-mitigation systems in place to ensure that principled humanitarian aid reaches those who need it most.’

The agency noted that it works with humanitarian partners with ‘extensive experience working in challenging environments’ and who have ‘demonstrated their commitment to stay and deliver life-saving assistance with impartiality, neutrality and independence while ensuring the safety of their staff and facilities.’

The United Nations did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.