CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on artificial intelligence (AI) and international security under "Maintenance of International Peace and Security" during the 81st session of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Leading artificial intelligence developers urged the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 23 to establish international safety standards, warning that increasingly capable systems could escape human control, enable biological weapons development and concentrate power in too few hands.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said AI offered opportunities for creativity and discovery but could outpace institutions and make decisions people could no longer understand or control.
“If AI is to be democratic, the most important decisions cannot be made by labs in San Francisco alone,” he said, arguing that governments accountable to the public should help shape those decisions.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei warned that poorly managed AI could pose “a risk to humanity as a whole,” citing its potential misuse to develop biological weapons and the danger of losing control of advanced models.
He called for agreements banning the use of AI to develop biological weapons, common standards for testing models, stronger evaluation and verification systems, and international reporting mechanisms for serious safety incidents.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said protecting the public could not be left to technology companies. Britain would put AI at the center of its G20 presidency next year, he said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also called for an international framework to regulate the technology.
The United States opposed a global regulatory body. White House science and technology adviser Michael Kratsios urged governments to develop their own expertise and institutions, with international cooperation focused on sharing best practices.
China’s U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, called for stronger regulatory frameworks, emergency response mechanisms and cross-border cooperation.
AI was also on the agenda when U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Sept. 24 for talks covering trade and security.
Trump said the two countries would hold important discussions on AI and work toward more balanced trade. Xi called for stronger communication and said both countries had a responsibility to ensure the technology remained under human control and served public welfare.
The leaders later attended a White House dinner with technology executives including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Altman.
