King Abdullah Warns of Declining Attention Spans at UNGA as Trump Pushes to Rename AI

Jordan's King Abdullah II warned on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York that technology is causing human attention spans to dwindle, posing potential risks to geopolitical stability. Highlighting the unprecedented speed of change and the constant stream of conflict images on mobile devices, the monarch noted that average screen attention has dropped dramatically over the years. He emphasized that where we direct our attention determines which global conflicts receive sustained diplomacy and which are ignored by the world.

The speeches by King Abdullah and US President Donald Trump placed heavy focus on technology, particularly artificial intelligence. Mr Trump defended AI during his address and suggested a rebranding strategy to dismiss growing public unease. He declared that the United States would officially refer to the technology as 'superintelligence' rather than 'artificial', arguing that the former term is much more accurate. This proposal drew skepticism, as technology experts already use the term 'superintelligence' to describe hypothetical advanced cognitive systems surpassing human capabilities.

Mr Trump also dismissed calls for increased regulations on AI concerning cybersecurity, the labor market, and the environment. His remarks come ahead of the US midterm elections in November, amidst polls showing voter opposition to unregulated AI and data-centre construction. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, striking a more cautious tone and calling for the urgent establishment of a common international legal framework for AI to counter cybersecurity threats and disinformation.