OpenAI Urges US Leadership on Global AI Standards Ahead of UN Security Council Briefing

OpenAI has urged the United States to take the lead in shaping international technical standards for frontier artificial intelligence, including systems capable of recursive self-improvement, in which AI can autonomously enhance its own capabilities.

In a blog post published as world leaders gathered at the United Nations, the company said a mechanism was needed to support complementary national and international frontier standards, alongside shared measurement tools and incident-reporting protocols to enable collective action.

"Leading now will determine whether the United States shapes the global AI framework or watches a fragmented, uneven, and conflict-ridden system take hold around it," OpenAI wrote. It added that the outcome would also decide whether advanced AI strengthens the networks the US and its allies already maintain, warning that a failure to lead could weaken them.

Pacing and alignment

The intervention comes amid a broader industry debate about deliberately slowing, or "pacing", the development of increasingly powerful AI. Several industry leaders, including OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, have called for a coordinated slowdown, cautioning that the technology could soon improve on its own and slip beyond human control.

OpenAI framed pacing not as a fixed speed limit but as a technical question of keeping alignment research — work that ensures AI acts in line with human values — and its deployment ahead of advancing capabilities.

Security Council briefing

Altman is due to brief the 15-member UN Security Council on Wednesday on AI and international security. The meeting has been convened by France, which holds the council's presidency for September, and will be chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.

The Security Council first met on the risks of artificial intelligence in 2023, when China said the technology should not become a "runaway horse" and the United States warned against its use to censor or repress people.

Washington's stance

US President Donald Trump's administration has rejected calls to slow AI development, concerned that any pause would give China room to close the gap in a technology it regards as central to national and economic security. Trump said earlier this month that the US already has guardrails in place to regulate AI development, adding that China would benefit from doubts being cast on the field. He is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in Washington.