The United Nations is to open a new office in The Hague to monitor the development of robots and artificial intelligence, the Telegraaf said on Tuesday.

The aim of the new centre is to collect know-how and determine the influence of technological developments such as robots and AI will have on security.

This can range from the effects of mass unemployment due to robots to the use of AI by criminals, according to Irakli Beridze, senior strategic adviser of the UN’s Unicri under which the office falls.

‘A number of UN organisations operate projects involving robots and AI, such as the group of experts studying the role of autonomous military robots in the realm of conventional weapons. These are temporary measures. Our is the first permanent UN office on this subject. We are looking at the risks as well as the advantages,’ Beridze said. The UN agency will begin operations with a small staff of two to three people.

Beridze said the biggest threat is in the speed in which the new developments are being made. ‘This can make for instability if society does not adapt quickly enough, he said.