World leaders meet at UN as planet grapples with climate change, wars, runaway AI

Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations in New York this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.

The annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: can the leaders...