United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres meets with Rector Lenar Safin and holds a Q&A session with students
The highest official of the UN arrived to join the XVI BRICS Summit in Kazan.
He expressed interest in visiting the astronomical observatories of one of the oldest universities in Russia, recently included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Accompanied by Rector Lenar Safin, António Guterres toured the building of the first observatory of the university, where a small museum exposition was presented. Ilham Galiullin, Head of the Laboratory of Space X-Ray Sources,, told the guest of honor about scientific research at Kazan University since the XIX century. The equipment of different epochs – classical telescope-refractor, star atlas, theodolite, sextant, chronometer, passageway instrument – was presented to Antonio Guterres. Scientific books from the time of Ivan Simonov (late 18th – early 19th century) were also demonstrated.
Lenar Safin emphasized that the astronomical school of Kazan University confirmed its highest level when its achievements once again received international recognition and the observatories became part of the world cultural heritage. According to the Rector, the event was important for the whole of Russia, as these are the first astronomical observatories on the territory of the country to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as independent sites.
“The UN Secretary-General inquired about modern problems in astrophysics, shared his impressions about his recent visit to the complex of radio telescopes (ALMA), located in the Chilean Atacama Desert,” Galiullin noted. “Guterres was particularly interested in scientific research in astronomy and astrophysics at Kazan University.”
Then Mr Guterres met with students. The moderator of the event was Dilbar Sadykova, Chairperson of the Academy of Youth Diplomacy, graduate of Kazan University.
During the conversation the UN Secretary-General raised important issues relevant to every inhabitant of our planet – the topics of inequality, the threat of hunger, climate change, artificial intelligence, and others.
“During the last decades the level of poverty has been decreasing, but now it has increased again, as well as hunger, and to a greater extent in developed countries,” said he.
The UN Secretary-General emphasized that humanity is facing a frightening problem – climate change. At the moment, he believes, there is no way to control it at the proper level.
“We are inventing new technologies. A relatively new direction, of course, is artificial intelligence, and I am sure you are aware of its importance in the modern world,” the Secretary-General addressed the young people.
AI, according to Guterres, has limitless potential and can create fantastic things. Artificial intelligence helps in medicine, but, the guest noted, one should not discount the risks.
The Secretary-General told about his experience of using artificial intelligence – a deepfake, which, preserving the timbre and voice features, realized a simultaneous translation of his speech into Chinese. Guterres admitted that it looked very realistic.
“This means that today we have technologies that can be used in election campaigns, at the snap of fingers can change people’s minds. Thus, a fundamentally wrong perception of a candidate can be created, which, by the way, can broadcast malicious information,” the speaker emphasized.
The UN Secretary-General also discussed the importance of overcoming new economic challenges, reforming key institutions of global governance and security policy.
Then an open dialog with students took place. Students asked the UN Secretary-General’s opinion on the opportunities for Russians to participate in global processes, what qualities and skills the youth representatives should possess.
“There are several ways to interact with the young. In the days of my childhood, at some point politicians realized that young people needed to be convinced of something, they started talking to them. Later they realized that young people want not only to listen, but also to express their point of view,” summarized Mr Guterres. “I discussed climate issues with young people and they gave advice. Now we are listening to young people. We need them to participate in decision-making.”