UN Chief Presses for Stronger AI Oversight as Trump Defends Existing Safeguards
Antonio Guterres calls for global AI governance ahead of the UN General Assembly, while Donald Trump says US guardrails are already sufficient.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly that the risks it poses can no longer be set aside, placing him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has argued that existing safeguards are enough.
Speaking to reporters before next week's gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York, Guterres said stronger oversight of AI would be a central theme in his discussions with the leaders arriving in the city.
"We cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the front lines of the development of AI," he said, adding that protecting citizens — including from the threats of artificial intelligence — is the first responsibility of any government.
The secretary-general has consistently advocated for international governance of AI. In 2023, the UN established a 39-member advisory body on the technology, drawing together tech executives, government officials and academics from countries including the United States, Russia and Japan.
Diplomats said the UN Security Council may also hold a meeting on AI during the annual high-level week. The 15-member body first took up the issue in 2023.
Guterres said the international community needs a shared understanding of how to pursue the safe, secure and responsible development of AI, and of when increasingly powerful systems may call for stronger safeguards or additional measures to manage potential risks.
His remarks come amid mounting public concern about the dangers of AI. An Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, said last week that he had resigned, in part because people building AI earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade. Leaders of some of the industry's largest companies have called for slowing the pace of development.
Trump, however, played down those concerns on Monday, saying the United States already has guardrails in place to regulate and prosecute AI companies. He has also said China would benefit from doubts being cast on AI development.
The US president is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. The two countries had been planning a separate mid-September meeting, led by lower-level officials, to discuss AI risks.