UN AI Summit Exposes Deep Divisions on Global Oversight

Top AI executives warned the UN Security Council that unchecked artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity, urging urgent global safeguards to prevent systems from slipping beyond human control. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stressed that AI governance must be shaped democratically, not in labs alone. AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio highlighted risks including automated cyber warfare and unintended military conflict, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons. Global powers remain divided on oversight, with European leaders and UN officials backing a binding framework, while US President Donald Trump rejected globalist controls to maintain competitive advantage. Executives warned that without enforceable cooperation, market competition could outpace safety testing.