Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, will give an in-person presentation to the United Nations Security Council (UN) next week. This event will take place during the annual meeting of world leaders in New York, USA, intended for the UN General Assembly. The confirmation of this participation was provided by an OpenAI spokesperson to the Reuters agency.
The Security Council, composed of 15 members, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday the 23rd with the aim of debating issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) and international security. This session takes place just a few weeks after AI industry leaders advocated for coordinated moderation in the advancement of increasingly sophisticated technologies.
These leaders expressed concern that AI could, in the near future, acquire the ability to improve itself and consequently escape human control.
France's Stance on AI Development
France, through a concept note sent to the Council members and seen by Reuters, emphasized the urgency of fostering safe and responsible AI development. This is necessary due to the inherent risk of malicious use of this technology, aiming for the benefit of the entire global community.
The UN Security Council, whose primary function is to safeguard international peace and security, addressed the dangers of AI for the first time in 2023. On that occasion, China stated that the technology should not evolve into an 'out-of-control horse,' while the United States raised alarms about potential applications of AI for repression or censorship of individuals.
Sam Altman had already signaled the risks of AI before the current growth of the sector. In an essay published in 2015, titled 'Machine Intelligence, part 1,' he argued that the emergence of superintelligent AI would represent 'probably the greatest threat to the continuity of human existence.'