Sam Altman, N.1 of OpenAI, insists: “an international agency is needed to monitor AI”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned during a visit to the UAE that AI poses an “existential risk” to humanity and suggested the establishment of an international agency, similar to the International Agency for the Atomic Energy (IAEA) , to oversee AI.

“We face a serious risk. We face an existential risk,” Altman said, according to the Associated Press. “The challenge facing the world is how to manage these risks and ensure we continue to enjoy those tremendous benefits. No one wants to destroy the world.” Altman pointed to the IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, as an example of how the world has come together to oversee nuclear energy . That agency was created in the years following the United States dropping atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II.

“Let’s get together as a planet — and I hope this place can play a real role in that,” Altman said. “We talk about the IAEA as a model where the world has said ‘OK, very dangerous technology, let’s all put in protections’. And I think we can do both. “I think it’s a nuanced message in this case because it’s saying it’s not that dangerous today, but it can become dangerous quickly. But we can strike a balance.”