UN chief says world is fragmented, countries do 'whatever they like'

UN Secretary General António Guterres lamented that the international community is becoming more and more divided despite "existential challenges" like climate change and the threat of artificial intelligence run amok.

"Even the Cold War era was, in some ways, less dangerous," he said, citing the ability of the United States and Soviet Union to work on nuclear arms reduction despite being rival superpowers.

"Today, in our multipolar world, we still face the nuclear danger. And we are dealing with two more threats with existential dimensions: the climate crisis, and the risks of uncontrolled artificial intelligence."

Speaking at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, he said the world has struggled "to take effective steps" on any of these potentially humanity-destroying risks.

"Today we see countries doing whatever they like, with no accountability," Guterres said, blaming a lack of "strong global institutions."