Artificial Intelligence
Altman and Amodei address UN Security Council on AI
The OpenAI and Anthropic chiefs used separate briefings at the United Nations security council to argue for human control, international rules and a slower pace in some AI development.
- Sam Altman and Dario Amodei spoke to the United Nations security council on Wednesday in separate briefings on AI safety.
- Altman said AI could bring either major creative gains or upheaval, and he urged governments to shape the technology through democratic processes.
- Amodei said poorly managed AI could be a risk to humanity and called for international agreements, including a ban on AI used to develop biological weapons and global testing standards.
- The article said Greg Brockman’s Leading the Future PAC had raised more than $100m and spent millions backing candidates who supported weaker AI regulation.
Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic addressed the United Nations security council in separate sessions on Wednesday. The article said the two companies have faced closer scrutiny over the safety of their products.
Altman said AI could produce either creative progress or disruption, and he urged governments to shape its future through democratic institutions. He also said the most important decisions should not be left to labs in San Francisco alone.
He argued that AI systems should stay under human control, should help people in practical ways and should support individuals. The article said his remarks did not dwell on the worst-case warnings that have circulated this month.
Amodei spoke by video call and repeated points from a 12 September blog post that called for more global cooperation and oversight. He said AI could pose a threat to humanity if handled badly, and he backed bans on AI for biological weapons work and international standards for testing new models.
The article also linked Altman’s speech to OpenAI’s political activity, saying the company’s president Greg Brockman is associated with Leading the Future PAC. It said the committee had raised more than $100m and spent millions on candidates who support stronger regulation being defeated.
Named in this story
People
- Sam Altman
- OpenAI chief who addressed the council and argued for democratic oversight
- Dario Amodei
- Anthropic chief who addressed the council by video call
- Greg Brockman
- OpenAI president whose political action committee was mentioned
- Elon Musk
- one of the figures named as supporting a slowdown in AI development
Companies
- OpenAI
- Altman’s company and the subject of the lobbying reference
- Anthropic
- Amodei’s company and the source of the safety warnings cited
- one of the companies named as supporting a slowdown in AI development
Organisations
- United Nations security council
- the body that heard the briefings on AI safety
- Leading the Future PAC
- the committee said to have raised more than $100m and backed candidates
How the source tells it
The article is mostly straight reporting, but it leans on alarm and rivalry framing through repeated references to existential risk, political pressure and the companies’ competition.
- alarm repeated references to warnings that the technology could wipe out humanity
- urgency the issue is presented as needing slowdown and international cooperation
- rivalry the firms are described as arch-rivals jockeying for the lead
- vendor boosterism executives are allowed to tout AI’s productivity gains and public benefits