Trump Rejects Global AI Control at UN, Renames It ‘Super Intelligence’

President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2026, that the United States totally rejects any attempt to build a global system of control for artificial intelligence, declaring that the technology would instead be officially known as Super Intelligence.

The ‘Super Intelligence’ Declaration

Trump delivered the address to world leaders gathered in the Assembly Hall for the annual General Debate of the assembly’s 81st session. In the speech’s central passage on the technology, quoted in the White House release on the address published the same day, Trump said: “The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme of control for the Artificial Intelligence being spoken of so much now — hereinafter officially called ‘Super Intelligence.'”

According to the United Nations’ official record of the U.S. statement, Trump argued that artificial intelligence should instead be called superintelligence because, in his view, the word artificial makes intelligence seem fake; he said it is not fake and called it amazing. The UN account reports that he described technological leadership as central to economic and geopolitical competition in the years ahead and equated winning superintelligence with winning overall. It also reports that he said the United States would encourage development of the technology while monitoring potential risks.

The White House release characterized the speech as delivering the message that American strength and resolve is back, saying Trump declared the country would use that strength to confront its enemies, protect its interests, forbid communism, reject global control, and always defend its sovereignty.

Other Elements of the Address

Trump said his administration had worked with many countries to implement what he called the most sweeping reform in UN history, with the organization’s budget cut for the first time, by 15 percent in 2026, and more than 4,000 positions eliminated from its bureaucracy, according to the UN’s meetings coverage. He said there is no global government and that while he is president there will be no global taxes, and he called on all States Parties to the International Criminal Court to formally withdraw from what he described as a rogue institution.

On Greenland, Trump said the United States would immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence on the territory, including the construction of two major military bases, with an agreement with Denmark and Greenland to be signed later that day, according to the UN account. On Iran, he said he would never allow the country to have a nuclear weapon. He said he had settled eight wars since taking office, and on Ukraine he said Washington was working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, predicting a settlement would come quicker than people understand.

Rubio Outlines an AI Hotline Concept for the US and China

Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed AI policy the same day in a Fox & Friends interview in New York City. Rubio described a concept he attributed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: an arrangement similar to the hotline that existed during the Cold War, under which the United States and China could immediately warn each other about a dangerous AI incident capable of affecting economies or societies, or even leading to conflict between nation-states. He said it was an idea the United States would explore with the Chinese, among others. “I don’t know if it’ll be ready by Thursday, but it’s certainly a concept,” Rubio said, according to the transcript published by the State Department.

Rubio said the president’s position is that the United States must protect the country if harm comes from AI, but that it cannot afford to be absent from the leading edge of a technology that is going to advance regardless. He described the guardrail problem: new models arrive every three to six months, so by the time guardrails are built around what exists now, something newer requires new guardrails. He said AI cannot be contained within national borders because the technology will be global, meaning engagement on the global stage is unavoidable. No leading country will slow down, he added, because no country wants to be hurt by AI and none wants to be left behind by it.

OpenAI’s Proposal for International Frontier AI Standards

On September 21, 2026, the day before the address, OpenAI published Building standards for the next phase of AI, a post arguing that the United States should lead an effort with countries around the world to develop global technical standards for frontier AI, including recursive self-improvement, the process by which AI systems increasingly take on the work of developing successive generations of AI. The company wrote that fully autonomous recursive self-improvement is not currently happening and should not be pursued unless and until it can be done safely. Pursued without appropriate care, it warned, the process could result in humans losing practical control over AI development, leaving them unable to provide oversight of research processes they no longer understand.

OpenAI proposed building on the emerging network of AI safety institutes, naming those already established in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Kenya, Japan, Korea, Singapore, India, and the United Kingdom, with standard setting facilitated through the Center for AI Standards and Innovation and national industry bodies. The company said the resulting technical standards would not be licenses, mandatory prerelease review, or approval requirements for AI models, and that national governments would decide whether and how to incorporate them into their own legal systems. It also said governments and critical infrastructure operators worldwide would need secure channels of communication to share national security concerns, emerging vulnerabilities and threats, and best practices in frontier AI safety. Dialogue between the United States and China in these areas would be a positive step, the company wrote, adding that upcoming talks are happening at an opportune time.