OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs push for AI cooperation at UN after Trump rebuffs 'globalist scheme' to control it

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei addressed the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday and called for international coordination to address the potential risks posed by artificial intelligence. 

"In our history, there have been times where countries who compete and don't always like each other very much still come together for shared interests and the collective good in the face of a powerful new technology," Altman said. "We believe this must be one of those times"

Earlier this month, Amodei rocked the tech sector by publishing a proposal to slow down the pace of AI development. Altman, in a rare sign of solidarity with his chief rival, publicly agreed with Amodei on the need to pace the frontier. The safety practices at both companies have been under intense scrutiny after industry researchers warned about the growing potential for their models to cause catastrophic harm. 

The executives' remarks on Wednesday came just one day after President Donald Trump gave his own wide-ranging speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Trump criticized what he described as a "globalist scheme" to control AI, and said the U.S. would continue to encourage the technology's progress, "not rein it in."

"I'm not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution," Trump said.

OpenAI and Anthropic's public positions have raised questions about what a slowdown would mean in practice, especially as both companies are gearing up for what are widely expected to be blockbuster IPOs. Neither company has officially disclosed when it plans to debut.