The AI safety debate is set to feature in US-China talks later this month during President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington
Published : 16 Sep 2026, 07:12 PM
The United Nations has called on governments and AI companies to urgently rein in the development of artificial intelligence, even as both the United States and China moved to dismiss mounting safety concerns from industry leaders.
In a letter to countries and AI developers, UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned that the world was "on the cusp of irreversible change, affecting not just us but generations of humanity to come”, calling for urgent multilateral action to govern advanced AI models under international human rights law, reports The Independent.
The appeal came days after two researchers at US firm Anthropic warned that rapidly advancing AI could lead to human extinction in the near future -- warnings that rattled parts of the industry but were quickly downplayed by both Washington and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns outright, writing on Truth Social that the only guardrails AI needed were "a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT."
He also accused Anthropic chief Dario Amodei -- who over the weekend called for a slowdown in AI development -- of putting on a show, saying he was "now pretending to be a perfect little angel”.
China, meanwhile, rejected what its foreign ministry called "threat narratives" around AI governance, warning against "confrontation and malicious competition" and calling on all parties to pursue AI development that is "open, inclusive, and beneficial to all”.
Amodei's call for a slower, more carefully managed pace of AI development was endorsed by Elon Musk of xAI and OpenAI chief Sam Altman, adding weight to a growing chorus of voices urging restraint, according to The Independent.
The issue is expected to feature in bilateral talks later this month when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the US, even as China's own state security minister warned that advanced US AI models could threaten his country's critical infrastructure.
