AIBRIEF
France, using its September UN Security Council presidency, has invited Sam Altman to brief the 15 members in person on Wednesday, turning a frontier AI briefing into a security table event.
France, holding the UN Security Council's rotating presidency for September, and forcing the coordination question before any proposal is on the table.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Altman's appearance to Reuters on Friday: "Sam Altman will brief an open UN Security Council meeting in person next week." The meeting will be chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.
France circulated a concept note to UNSC members framing the session around "the urgency of action to foster safe and responsible development of artificial intelligence for the benefit of the international community as a whole," citing the risk of misuse for malicious purposes. Altman is expected to focus on international coordination, common safety standards, and how OpenAI's work reaches people globally.
The UNSC first debated AI in 2023; China warned then that AI should not become a "runaway horse," and the US raised concerns about AI being used to censor or repress. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has since called publicly for stronger international cooperation on AI-related risks.
The open-briefing format needs no P5 unanimity, which is why France chose this venue over a General Assembly track or an industry summit. What comes out of the room is not yet known.