OpenAI CEO Suggests International Agency Like UN’s Nuclear Watchdog Could Oversee AI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned during a visit to the United Arab Emirates that AI poses an “existential risk” to humanity and suggested the establishment of an international agency, similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to oversee AI. The Associated Press reports: “We face serious risk. We face existential risk,” said Altman, 38. “The challenge that the world has is how we’re going to manage those risks and make sure we still get to enjoy those tremendous benefits. No one wants to destroy the world.” Altman made a point to reference the IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, as an example of how the world came together to oversee nuclear power. That agency was created in the years after the U.S. dropping atom bombs on Japan at the end of World War II. “Let’s make sure we come together as a globe — and I hope this place can play a real role in this,” Altman said. “We talk about the IAEA as a model where the world has said ‘OK, very dangerous technology, let’s all put some guard rails.’ And I think we can do both. “I think in this case, it’s a nuanced message ’cause it’s saying it’s not that dangerous today but it can get dangerous fast. But we can thread that needle.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.