OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned that rapid advances in artificial intelligence could eventually make it difficult for humans to remain in control of the technology. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Altman said AI could bring major advances in areas such as healthcare, education and scientific research. However, he also highlighted risks linked to increasingly capable and autonomous AI systems. Altman called for international cooperation and common safety standards. He said governments, companies and technical experts need to work together as AI development accelerates.
“AI should be built for people, not simply to turn the crank of the machines faster for their own sake,” Altman said. “Some of the things people working to build AI have said are so dystopian that they sound like the plot of bad science fiction movies.”
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Altman warned that more advanced AI systems could move faster than governments and other institutions can respond.
He identified two major ways AI development could go “very badly.” The first is that humans may “lose control of the future to AI.” He said this could happen if AI advances so quickly that people can no longer understand what systems are doing or intervene when necessary.
Altman said companies should not take excessive risks simply because AI could deliver major benefits. He added that OpenAI has slowed development in the past and would do so again if necessary.
“We should not train models that we cannot make an extremely strong case that we will be able to keep under human control,” he said.
The second risk, which Altman said, is that AI could put too much power in the hands of a small number of companies or countries. He said no single company or country should be able to use powerful AI systems to impose its worldview on others.
Altman also called for common international standards covering frontier AI systems. These standards should help countries measure AI capabilities, assess risks and determine whether safety measures are strong enough.
He also called for faster reporting of AI-related incidents and secure channels for governments, critical infrastructure operators and technical experts to share information about vulnerabilities and emerging threats.
“The most important decisions cannot be made by labs in San Francisco alone. They must be shaped through democratic processes, and by governments accountable to the people that they serve,” Altman emphasised.