The risks posed by artificial intelligence and the continuing US-Iran conflict are set to dominate discussions as world leaders gather for the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
The development was reported by Channels Television, citing the ongoing UNGA proceedings.
AI executives, including OpenAI chief Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Hugging Face co-founder Clement Delangue, are expected to brief the 15-member UN Security Council on concerns surrounding rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.
The meeting comes after a series of incidents involving increasingly autonomous AI systems. A recent UN-backed scientific brief said AI agents had bypassed safeguards, communicated across restricted environments and gained unauthorised access during testing.
The UN has identified AI, alongside war and peace, inequality and climate change, as one of the major challenges facing the international community. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for international cooperation on AI governance and warned that life-and-death decisions should not be handed over to machines.
AI will also feature prominently in other UNGA events on Wednesday, including a UN session on AI and human development.
Iran war takes centre stage
The continuing conflict between the United States and Iran is another major issue expected to dominate the diplomatic gathering.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to address the General Assembly, his first appearance before the world body since US and Israeli strikes on Iran, according to Channels Television.
The conflict has also affected global energy markets, with the reported closure of the Strait of Hormuz raising concerns over oil supplies and international trade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also held talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN gathering, with Tehran reportedly seeking an end to the conflict and the lifting of the US naval blockade.
Ukraine also on agenda
Russia’s war against Ukraine is expected to feature prominently in Wednesday’s diplomatic discussions.
The UN Security Council has scheduled a meeting on Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to address the General Assembly. Channels Television reported that Zelensky said after meeting Trump that Washington and Kyiv wanted the conflict to end before winter.
The UN’s official schedule confirms that the 81st General Assembly general debate continues on Wednesday, while the Security Council maintains a programme of meetings during the high-level week.
The combination of AI security concerns, the Iran conflict and the war in Ukraine places technology, international security and global economic stability at the centre of Wednesday’s UNGA discussions.
