OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to brief UN Security Council on AI safety

Sam Altman is heading to the United Nations. The OpenAI CEO is set to brief the UN Security Council on AI safety during the high-level UN General Assembly week, scheduled for September 21 through September 27, 2026. The UNSC meeting will focus on what member states are calling existential threats posed by uncontrolled AI development, with particular concern for global peace and the welfare of children. France, which holds the council’s rotating presidency, confirmed the agenda on September 14 through a diplomatic source. A crowded moment for AI safety discourse On September 12, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay urging a deliberate slowdown on frontier AI capabilities, citing the potential for irreversible harm. Altman and Elon Musk both signaled support for the underlying concern. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and human rights chief Volker Türk have both called for binding international guardrails and multilateral coordination. Altman’s long game on international governance Altman has spent considerable time advocating for international frameworks that would establish safety standards and certification requirements for AI systems, a proposal he has floated in va...