At the UN General Assembly, world leaders are discussing the need for stronger safeguards on artificial intelligence after incidents where AI technology has fallen out of human control. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for more oversight and warned against life-and-death decisions being made by machines. In contrast, US President Donald Trump dismissed calls for regulation, proposing to use the term "Super Intelligence" instead, arguing that it better reflects the potential of AI while comparing concerns about its risks to those regarding climate change. Other nations like Britain are pushing for global standards and principles for AI safety, although major powers China and the United States have not endorsed these measures yet.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where Xi pressed Trump to adopt Beijing's stance against Taiwan independence, which Taiwan rejected outright. Meanwhile, Taiwan is crucial for global tech and economy due to its leading semiconductor production; TSMC alone produces the majority of advanced chips that power smartphones, AI systems, and more. As Stanford Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann noted, economic disruption from a conflict over Taiwan would be severe.
In unrelated developments, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with US media at the UN General Assembly, where he denied Iran's nuclear ambitions while offering to dilute its enriched uranium and allow inspections under international law. He also blamed Washington for ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that Iran has over 440 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%, raising concerns despite Pezeshkian's denials.
Taiwan's representative, Ambassador Alexander Yui, clarified during an interview on CBS’s "Face the Nation" that while Taiwan was discussed between Trump and Xi, it wasn't a major focus. He emphasized there has been no change in US policy towards Taiwan amid recent tensions with China.
Written for “Taiwan Iran Us Relations Midterms” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 386 other(s) covering the same event.
AI has become a major topic at the UN General Assembly after incidents of the technology falling out of the control of humans and warnings by company insiders drew global alarm and calls for better government supervision of the industry.
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technology → become → industry
Visions for the future of AI are playing out at the United Nations as world leaders talk about the threat — or promise — of artificial intelligence.
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leaders → play → intelligence
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres kicked off the parade of world leaders speaking at the General Assembly by calling for more oversight of AI, warning in vivid if not ominous terms of what could go wrong.
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what → kick → terms
“Let us resolve that life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines.
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decisions → let → machines
Killer robots must have no place in our future,” Guterres said in his farewell address to world leaders.
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Guterres → have → leaders
He also warned about AI in his first General Assembly address a decade ago.
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He → warn → address
With Guterres saying the world needs to “advance the conditions for the responsible pacing of AI and the additional safeguards needed to address risks,” the UN Security Council on Wednesday will address how to place some kind of controls on the technology and it will feature some of the biggest names in the field.
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it → say → field
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, stood by his firm opposition to regulating AI, while arguing the word "artificial" undersold the technology and voicing hope the rest of the world would adopt the new term.
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rest → stand → term
Super Intelligence "sounds much better" and "it's much more accurate," he said.
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he → sound → ?
also compared the warnings of AI safety advocates to warnings about climate change, whose human causes are affirmed by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community.
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causes → compare → community
"The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control... artificial intelligence," he said.
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he → reject → intelligence
"Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception," he added.
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he → bring → challenges
"The very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.
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everything → say → us
"
Other nations call for safeguards
Ahead of the UN assembly, leaders of more than 20 mostly European countries urged binding safety measures for advanced AI, warning that the technology's development could outpace the ability to control it.
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development → call → it
AI superpowers China and the United States did not endorse the idea.
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China → endorse → idea
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain would launch an effort to establish global AI standards during its 2027 G20 presidency, while announcing an AI defence partnership with Washington to detect cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
"We will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness and to ensure that AI development is safe," he said.
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he → say → preparedness
He earlier revealed London plans to use Britain's role as host of the Group of 20 next year to push for a "single set of global principles and standards" around AI.
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London → reveal → AI
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed building AI technology independent from the great powers.
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Macron → propose → powers
"I don't want anyone to become the vassal of one of the great powers," Macron told the UN General Assembly, apparently in reference to China and the US.
"
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Macron → want → China
Our investment capabilities must be pooled to build a cutting-edge open-source AI model, which we will share.
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we → pool → which
We should not depend on somebody else."
The US-based AI giants themselves are increasingly asking for global coordination on AI safety, with OpenAI's Sam Altman set to address the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
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Altman → depend → Wednesday
France, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, initiated the meeting and believes AI's threat to international peace and security has not been sufficiently discussed at the UN.
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threat → hold → UN
The Aporia
