AI chiefs warn UN Security Council of security risks as systems grow more powerful

UNITED NATIONS — Top executives from three major artificial intelligence firms addressed the UN Security Council on Wednesday, expressing concerns that increasingly advanced AI systems could soon enhance themselves, transcend human control and endanger global security. The three prominent leaders were Sam Altman from OpenAI, Dario Amodei from Anthropic, and Clément Delangue, co-founder of Hugging Face.

In a warning statement, Anthropic's Amodei stated that, if not handled wisely, AI could pose a risk to humanity as a whole. The issue of regulating AI systems, which are progressing at a pace that outpaces regulatory bodies, has been a challenge for governments. The United States and China, the two dominant forces in AI development, are at odds over whether the technology should be governed by international regulations or be primarily governed by market forces.

Amodei emphasized that for AI to be democratic and widely accessible, key decisions cannot be made solely by technology labs in locations like San Francisco. They must be influenced by a broader consensus.