U.S. Intervention in the UN Security Council Meeting on "Artificial Intelligence and International Security"

Michael Kratsios Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy New York, New York

My sincere thanks to the Republic of France, as president of the Council.

Distinguished colleagues, I am grateful for another opportunity to discuss the most consequential technological development of our time – superintelligence, formerly known as AI. Our primary responsibility is to ensure that continued advances in superintelligence benefit our citizens and safeguard their liberty and way of life.

The frontier of intelligence is advancing rapidly. That is not a reason to pause its further development or to constrain it with new global governance structures.

As the world leader in frontier superintelligence, the U.S. has taken actions to ensure we are able to keep the frontier moving safely and responsibly.

We have engaged frontier labs on testing and evaluation of new model capabilities, established cybersecurity clearinghouses for coordination on vulnerability mitigation, and clarified the existing law enforcement tools available to address harmful uses of superintelligence.

Internationally, the United States is committed to diplomacy and dialogue on emerging technologies. But international dialogue, in this forum and in others, cannot be allowed to drift toward global governance. As President Trump said before the General Assembly yesterday, the United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme of control for superintelligence.

Only weeks ago, G20 innovation ministers reached consensus on the Carolina Principles, agreeing that countries should “preserve national sovereignty in the governance of emerging technologies,” not abdicate responsibility to international bodies. The American people’s representatives will legislate and regulate on the American people’s behalf. You should do the same for your people.

Only through an open, cooperative ecosystem built on sovereign infrastructure and domestic capacity can the world realize this technology’s potential. U.S. international efforts seek to build that capacity by sharing our technology and providing the tools for adoption.

We want you, our allies and partners, to share in the benefits from this technological revolution.

That is the purpose of our Exports Program. The U.S. is the only technology superpower willing and able to truly empower partner nations in your pursuit of a sovereign superintelligence capability. American companies will work with you to build gold-standard, secure infrastructure, and help you implement the applications and develop the capacity you need to serve your people.

In this era, technology sovereignty is realized in technology adoption. If you take the risks and benefits of superintelligence seriously, the most important thing you can do is to develop your country’s ability to understand and use it. Deploy it widely. Build expertise inside government. Prepare your institutions and regulators. Understand what these systems can and cannot do.

You cannot govern a technology you do not understand. This body and others like it should focus on sharing best practices to build domestic capacity, not establishing a global regulatory regime. It is through a policy of permissionless innovation, a tireless pursuit of the frontier, and an optimism about the future of technology that the United States built the greatest innovation ecosystem ever known to man.

For 250 years, the American character has sought a virtuous balance between innovation and safety, independence and security. Superintelligence is the latest in that long series of challenges and opportunities. In the service of humankind, it can become the greatest engine of growth and prosperity in history.

A prosperous future will not be secured by a global regulator. It will be secured by sovereign nations that adopt superintelligence, responsible companies that build it, and free people who refuse to be ruled by fear.