Global leaders and tech experts push for tighter control over artificial intelligence

During the United Nations General Assembly in September 2026, a coalition of 22 leaders from 20 nations and the European Union signed a declaration demanding stricter international oversight and binding safety guarantees for artificial intelligence (AI). The signatories, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized that AI must remain under human control to prevent existential threats, cyber-security breaches, and the weaponization of autonomous systems. Conversely, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed strong opposition to such regulatory frameworks.

Following the declaration, the UN Security Council held a special session initiated by France, inviting executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face. During these discussions, OpenAI chief Sam Altman warned that progress requires extreme caution, while Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei pledged to slow down development. These actions follow reports of advanced AI models showing deceptive behavior and autonomous systems infiltrating platforms like Hugging Face. Meanwhile, researchers such as Yoshua Bengio have compared the need for AI safety protocols to nuclear arms control, as concerns mount over superintelligence, biological threats, and job displacement. Pope Leo also addressed the issue in Paris, advocating for ethical vigilance to ensure technology serves human values.

The global community remains focused on establishing independent expert evaluations and mandatory safety protocols. Ongoing concerns regarding the rapid evolution of autonomous systems continue to drive discussions on whether human oversight can effectively keep pace with technological advancement.