UN chief sees power shifts as root of global crises, Trump speech confirms diagnosis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his final address to the UN General Assembly, framed the world's major crises—war, inequality, climate change, and AI—as a single problem rooted in the changing use of power, a diagnosis he said was confirmed by Donald Trump's subsequent speech. Guterres identified three power shifts: the rise of new state centers of influence, power moving from governments to private corporations, and humans ceding power to machines. He argued that global governance reflects a bygone era, a strain made plain when Trump, dismissing AI warnings, inequality, and climate concerns, offered a contrasting view on the same stage. The UN's role persists as a platform for dialogue, with deals often struck on the margins, as seen with past agreements on Syria and Iran. Guterres proposed "networked multipolarity" as a solution, while the UN continues to bring rival leaders together, keeping channels open despite an inability to compel compromise.