António Guterres' drive to serve those less fortunate saw him rise from a volunteer in the slums of Lisbon to the highest spheres of politics, eventually taking on the world's most important diplomatic role. Now in his final months in office, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations shares what keeps him awake at night.
"First of all, [it's] the enormous suffering because of all the conflicts and injustices that we have. Second, thinking about the future, the two existential threats that we are facing. One is climate change, and the other is artificial intelligence running away without control."
Preventing wars, easing suffering, acting as the world's moral compass, all these and more count among the formidable expectations placed on the UN Secretary-General. In this episode, António Guterres looks back on the milestones and setbacks of a long career, reflects on the personal tragedy of the loss of his first wife, and shares why his lasting hope is rooted in the promise of "We, the Peoples."
Edited transcript, photos, multimedia and more at the AAN website: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s13-antonio-guterres-it-is-a-gift-to-serve-humanity
Podcast full video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hOdCTRbMfyQ