Key facts
- Leading AI executives briefed the UN Security Council on Wednesday about AI's potential risks to international security.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei addressed the council.
- Amodei warned that poorly managed AI could pose a risk to humanity.
- Altman emphasized the need for international cooperation and democratic processes in AI governance.
- Yoshua Bengio described AI dangers as real and imminent.
- US President Donald Trump stated he would not stifle AI growth but would watch it closely.
Executives from leading artificial intelligence companies briefed the UN Security Council on Wednesday, warning of the potential risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems to international security. Among those addressing the 15-member council were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Hugging Face co-founder Clément Delangue.
Amodei stated that if managed poorly, AI could pose a risk to humanity as a whole. Altman emphasized that the most important decisions about AI cannot be made solely by labs in San Francisco, calling for democratic processes and international cooperation. He noted that historically, competing nations have united for shared interests in the face of powerful new technologies.
Yoshua Bengio, a prominent AI expert, told the council that the dangers are "real and imminent," describing AI as an unprecedented threat that no single member state can contain alone. The meeting occurred amid growing concerns about AI's rapid advancement outpacing regulatory efforts, with the US and China holding differing views on global guardrails.
US President Donald Trump, speaking separately at the UN General Assembly, stated he rejects any attempt to control AI and intends to encourage its growth, asserting that the US leads in AI development. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also warned that AI risks cannot be ignored. The UN Security Council previously met on AI risks in 2023, with China calling for AI not to become a "runaway horse" and the US cautioning against its misuse for repression.