By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI called on Monday for the United States to lead an international effort to develop global technical standards for frontier AI, including recursive self-improvement, where systems can autonomously enhance their own capabilities.
AI will be a key topic of discussion at the high-level UN General Assembly this week after several AI industry leaders — including OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman — called for a coordinated slowdown of the development of the increasingly powerful technology, warning it could soon improve on its own and slip beyond human control.
In a blog post published as world leaders gather at the United Nations, OpenAI said it was essential that a mechanism to facilitate complementary national and international frontier standards be developed, along with common measurements and incident reporting protocols for better collective action.
"Leading now will determine whether the United States shapes the global AI framework or watches a fragmented, uneven, and conflict-ridden system take hold around it. This will also determine whether advanced AI strengthens the networks that the United States and its allies already have; failing to lead may weaken them," OpenAI wrote in Monday's blog post.
Given worries about AI potentially harming humans in the future, the industry has been talking about intentionally slowing development, or "pacing".
"Pacing AI development is not about maintaining a predetermined speed. Technically, it is about ensuring that alignment research and deployment of that research stay ahead of capabilities," OpenAI said. Alignment ensures AI acts in line with human values.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET
Altman is due to brief the 15-member UN Security Council on Wednesday on AI and international security. The meeting has been convened by France, which is the president of the body for September, and will be chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.
The UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, met for the first time on the risks of artificial intelligence in 2023, when China said the technology should not become a "runaway horse" and the United States warned against its use to censor or repress people.
US President Donald Trump's administration has rejected calls to slow down AI development, wary that any would only hand China room to close the gap in a technology it views as central to national and economic security.