Countries around the world are trying to find a way to manage artificial intelligence, while the United States is reluctant to cooperate. Global leaders and technology executives are seeking a global approach to control AI at the United Nations General Assembly this week, especially following recent cyberattacks on other tech companies.
Global Challenges and U.S. Response
This situation comes as former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly rejected any global plan for controlling AI in his speech at the General Assembly. This has put other countries in a difficult position. Christopher Painter, former cybersecurity coordinator at the U.S. State Department, said, "If the United States does not participate and does not treat this as a political issue, the effectiveness of other countries will be limited."
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However, efforts to establish cooperation continue. The United Nations Security Council welcomed the heads of some of the largest AI companies in the United States on Wednesday. These executives expressed their serious concerns about the future security of these models and called for international collaboration to address these challenges.
Call for Global Standards
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said at the Security Council, "In our history, there have been times when competing countries come together for common interests. We believe this should be one of those times." Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called for the establishment of "common global standards" for testing AI models and warned that "if not properly managed, AI could be dangerous for humanity."
A few days ago, 22 countries led by Finland and Norway approved a declaration calling for the establishment of a global regulatory regime on AI safety and security, stating that AI "must remain under human guidance, oversight, and control." However, two key countries, the United States and China, did not sign the declaration.
Many leading AI companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and DeepSeek are primarily based in the United States or China. It is also expected that Trump and Xi Jinping, the President of China, will only briefly discuss AI during Xi's visit to Washington.
James Lewis, a former State Department official, said, "Those who produce 90 percent of AI do not want to participate in these discussions. If you prevent countries like Botswana and Tonga from using AI as a weapon, that is meaningless; you need to have the major players in the room."
However, there are hopes that China will join these discussions. Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the Security Council meeting that China supports the formation of "a global governance framework based on consensus at an early date to create institutional guardians for maintaining international peace and security."
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, emphasized the need for action from the United States and China in his speech at the General Assembly, stating, "Governments that have the greatest AI capabilities also have the greatest responsibilities to humanity." Concerns in this regard are widespread, and a recent survey shows that nearly all adults in the United States, Canada, and Europe are calling for a halt to AI development due to concerns about threats to humanity.
Countries behind this declaration largely remained silent following Trump's speech on Tuesday, and spokespeople for the embassies of Finland and Norway in Washington did not respond to requests for comment on the U.S. government's position. Alex Mason Nawe, spokesperson for the French embassy in Washington, emphasized that France intends to "act within this framework and participate and support future UN efforts in cybersecurity."
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, also called for a global effort to address concerns related to AI in his speech at the General Assembly, expressing hope that "all independent countries will come together to develop an open-source boundary model." However, some officials pointed to the difficulty of advancing further negotiations, stating that "there are many very interesting topics in AI that desperately need discussion and agreement, and undoubtedly these agreements must include the two leading countries in the AI competition."
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