Sam Altman’s remarks at the United Nations Security Council

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the United Nations Security Council, emphasizing AI’s potential to expand opportunity while stressing the need to keep powerful systems under human control. He highlighted the rapid progress of AI models, which has compressed timelines and intensified both the benefits and risks. Altman framed AI as a tool that could either drive a new Renaissance of creativity or trigger disruption akin to an Industrial Revolution, depending on how it is developed and deployed.

Altman warned that unchecked AI progress could lead to systems moving faster than institutions can regulate, concentrating power in too few hands, or making decisions beyond human understanding. He cautioned against building systems where alignment, monitoring, and safety cannot be guaranteed, stressing that even low probabilities of catastrophic outcomes are unacceptable. OpenAI has previously slowed development to prioritize safety, a stance Altman reaffirmed for future projects.

He outlined two primary risks: losing control of AI to systems that outpace human oversight and allowing a single entity to impose its worldview through unchecked AI dominance. Altman rejected the notion that any one actor should be trusted exclusively with such technology, calling for international cooperation to prevent misuse and ensure equitable access.

Altman advocated for a middle path between blind optimism and doomerism, positioning AI as a tool to empower individuals and communities. He emphasized that AI should augment human agency rather than replace it, enabling researchers, doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs to solve problems previously out of reach. OpenAI’s goal, he said, is to enable people globally to realize their potential through technology.