UN says AI safeguards can’t wait for certainty

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="The United Nations logo at the UN headquarters in New York. | Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2234546269.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> The United Nations logo at the UN headquarters in New York. | Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Governments need to rein in increasingly capable AI agents before their risks are fully understood, a United Nations scientific panel warned in the global organization's first major assessment of OpenAI's hack of Hugging Face earlier this year.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en/thematic-briefs/ai-agents-misalignment-risks">report</a> cements AI's place on the global diplomatic agenda this week as leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly and the US and China hold talks on AI. Last week, UN secretary general Ant&oacute;nio Guterres <a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-ai-safety-companies-global-coordination-guterres-6ae720a081ce4d5ede35837ca35b8460">called</a> on governments to cooperate on addressing the threats posed by AI, warning that "the world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety."</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is the first thematic brief from …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/998090/un-ai-panel-hugging-face-hack-precautionary-principle">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>