United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the risks posed by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence cannot be ignored, putting him at odds with US President Donald Trump, who has argued that existing safeguards are sufficient.
Guterres called for stronger oversight and common guardrails for AI, warning that a “race to the bottom” in AI safety could eventually lead to a “gigantic disaster at the global level.”
Ahead of next week's U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, Guterres told reporters that stronger oversight would be a major focus of his discussions with world leaders visiting the city, Reuters reported.
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"We cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the front lines of the development of AI," said Guterres. "It's the first responsibility of any government to protect its citizens – including from the threats of artificial intelligence."
After Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced last week that he had quit, partly because "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade," public alarm over the possible threat posed by AI has grown. Leaders of several of the biggest businesses in the sector have called for the pace of technological advancement to be slowed.
Trump downplayed industry executives' concerns on Monday, saying that the United States already has safeguards in place to oversee and penalise AI companies.
Guterres has long advocated for global AI governance. A 39-member advisory body on AI was established by the U.N. in 2023, with members including academics from countries such as the United States, Russia and Japan, as well as executives from technology companies and government officials.
According to diplomats, the U.N. Security Council may also discuss AI during the annual summit of world leaders in New York next week. In 2023, the 15-member council convened for the first time to discuss artificial intelligence.
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Guterres said countries with the most advanced AI capabilities "should establish mechanisms of contact, of exchange of information and some common guardrails to avoid this race to the bottom that could one day lead to a gigantic disaster at the global level."
Trump has said China would benefit from the doubt being cast on AI development.
Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. According to earlier reports from Reuters, lower-level government officials from the two countries were organising a separate meeting in mid-September to examine the risks associated with artificial intelligence.
"We need a shared understanding of how to advance the safe, secure and responsible development of AI – while identifying when increasingly powerful systems may require stronger safeguards, or additional measures to manage potential risks," Guterres said on Wednesday.
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