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Guterres Calls for Global AI Guardrails but Says a Summit Is Not Ready

The U.N. secretary-general wants leading AI powers to share information and establish a common safety floor. But he says the upcoming General Assembly session is too soon for a properly prepared international summit.

By 2 min read
Guterres Calls for Global AI Guardrails but Says a Summit Is Not Ready
Guterres Calls for Global AI Guardrails but Says a Summit Is Not Ready

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António Guterres says the United Nations is not ready to hold a serious international AI summit at the upcoming General Assembly session. But he does want the world’s highest-capacity AI countries to start coordinating now, before competition turns into a race to the bottom on safety. Speaking to U.N. reporters, Guterres said governments have a first responsibility to protect civilians from AI threats. National safeguards matter, he said, but global coordination is indispensable. His proposed safety floor is broad: AI should be safe, transparent, and accountable, with human dignity at the center. Countries should establish direct contact, exchange information, and agree on common protections. The U.N. has already commissioned a forty-member scientific body on AI, whose preliminary report in July warned about several categories of risk: harm to mental health, destructive uses, disruption to social, economic, and environmental systems, and the challenge of maintaining control over increasingly capable technology. The politics are unsettled. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for a coordinated slowdown by leading companies and governments. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has rejected that approach, while saying Meta still needs to make its AI safe. President Donald Trump has called claims that AI could destroy humanity a hoax and opposed limits on the technology. Guterres says a summit could make sense later, with governments, companies, scientists, and civil society at the same table. For now, the constraint is preparation—and the open question is whether countries can agree on a baseline before a formal summit exists.

Story brief

3 key points

The U.N. secretary-general is deferring a proposed international AI summit because the upcoming General Assembly session cannot be prepared properly. Instead, António Guterres wants high-capacity countries to establish contacts and align on a baseline of safety, transparency, accountability, and human dignity. A 40-member scientific body created in 2025 already warned in July about mental-health, destructive-use,...

  1. 01

    Guterres says any summit should include governments, AI companies, scientists, and civil society, but offers no date.

  2. 02

    The July preliminary report from a 40-member body lists mental-health, destructive-use, systemic, and control risks.

  3. 03

    Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a coordinated slowdown; Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has distanced Meta from that approach.

António Guterres is urging countries and AI companies to adopt common safety guardrails, warning that global competition must not become a race to the bottom. But the U.N. secretary-general said there is not enough time to prepare a serious international summit for the upcoming General Assembly session.

The safety floor Guterres wants

Speaking to U.N. reporters, Guterres said governments have a first responsibility to protect civilians from AI threats. National action is essential, he said, but global coordination is indispensable.

His proposed baseline is broad rather than technical: guardrails that make AI safe, transparent and accountable, with human dignity at the center. He urged countries with the highest AI capacity to establish contact, exchange information and agree on protections.

The world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety.

António Guterres, U.N. secretary-general

A summit for a later date

AI will be a major subject in Guterres’ discussions with leaders at next week’s annual General Assembly gathering. He said there was not enough time to properly prepare a summit, though a serious international meeting would make sense “at the right moment.”

Guterres said a summit should put governments, technology companies, scientists and civil society at the same table. The U.N. will continue exploring practical approaches in the immediate days ahead, he said.

A scientific warning already exists

At Guterres’ behest, the General Assembly established a 40-member global scientific body on AI in 2025. Its preliminary July report warned of risks from rapid, unchecked use at scale.

  • Potential harm to users’ mental health.
  • Potential use of AI as a destructive tool.
  • Effects on social, economic and environmental systems, and challenges controlling the technology.

A divided path to cooperation

Guterres’ appeal arrives amid disagreement over whether safety should slow AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has proposed a coordinated slowdown among leading technology companies and governments. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Meta must make its AI safe while distancing the company from that approach.

President Donald Trump has called claims that AI could destroy humanity a hoax and opposed efforts to limit the technology. Guterres is instead asking leading AI countries to begin contact and agree on guardrails before competition lowers safety standards.

Sources

  1. wsls.comUN chief urges global AI cooperation saying world can't afford 'a race to the bottom on AI safety'

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