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António Guterres calls for global AI safeguards just days after the US president labeled safety concerns a 'hoax'
UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning on September 16 about the dangers of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, calling for stronger global oversight and coordination. The timing was pointed: just two days earlier, Donald Trump had waved away AI risk concerns during a visit to Ireland, calling them a “hoax” driven by “negative forces.”
Two very different readings of the same technology #
Guterres emphasized that frontline AI developers themselves have flagged potential hazards, and that the international community needs coordinated measures to ensure safe development. His remarks built on months of groundwork, including the launch of the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance back in July.
He wasn’t speaking in a vacuum. On September 7, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk went even further, stating that advanced AI could pose an “existential” risk.
Trump’s position sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. During his September 14 remarks in Ireland, the president argued that existing US regulations and strong leadership are more than sufficient to handle whatever AI throws at the world. His framing cast safety advocates not as cautious engineers but as alarmists with ulterior motives.
Trump has consistently framed AI development as a race against China, one where pausing to assess risks is equivalent to handing Beijing the lead.
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Industry leaders side with caution #
What makes Trump’s dismissal notable is how isolated it looks among the people actually building the technology. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development in mid-September, a position supported by figures including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
The regulatory gap widens #
The US is home to the largest and most capable AI labs on the planet. Any global framework that doesn’t include meaningful American participation is, at best, incomplete.
A minimalist US regulatory approach could attract more investment into American AI companies in the near term, offering a friendlier environment for rapid development and deployment. But it also concentrates risk. If something goes meaningfully wrong with an advanced AI system, the absence of guardrails becomes a liability rather than an advantage.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our