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In a papal address, Pope Leo XIV called for AI systems to be 'disarmed' and urged UN member states to pursue a ban on lethal autonomous weapons ahead of talks in Geneva next month. He said machines are tools rather than persons and warned against granting AI legal rights, insisting human oversight must remain over decisions involving life, freedom and force.
US State Department official Brian Hardesty told a UN committee that Russia's Kosmos 2612 military satellite maneuvered dangerously close to a US-registered commercial satellite in low-Earth orbit last weekend, calling the behavior consistent with an on-orbit weapons operation. Russian diplomat Konstantin Vorontsov dismissed the US and European concerns as unfounded, describing all Russian space activity, including Kosmos 2612's, as purely peaceful.
A new UN Environment Programme report finds global warming is now projected to reach 2.2°F (1.2°C) above current temperatures if countries meet their pledges, worse than last year's forecast. The report attributes this partly to the US formally withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and says US emissions rose by 133 megatons of CO2 equivalent in 2025, far more than any other nation, driven by higher electricity demand and increased coal power use.
Speaking at the United Nations in late September, President Trump said the term 'artificial' made AI sound fake and announced his administration would start referring to the technology as 'superintelligence,' or 'SI.' The remark has reignited a long-running debate over how AI should be labeled and understood.
President Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to avoid the term 'artificial intelligence' in favor of 'super intelligence,' following remarks at the UN claiming the word 'artificial' makes intelligence sound fake. The US Center for AI Standards and Innovation has already been renamed the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence, and Justice Department press releases have started using the new phrasing.
At the UN General Assembly in September, Panama's president José Raúl Mulino proposed a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature, which would recognize nature as a legal 'subject of rights' with intrinsic value. On 24 September, Panama, Tonga and Vanuatu launched the For Nature Coalition of States, joined by founding members Palau and Dominica, to build diplomatic support for the idea within the UN's Harmony with Nature process.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged United Nations member countries to work together on establishing shared safety standards for artificial intelligence. The appeal was made in the context of UN discussions on AI governance, though specific policy proposals were not detailed in available reporting.
OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei spoke to the United Nations Security Council, calling for international cooperation to manage risks from artificial intelligence. Altman argued that nations with competing interests have historically united over powerful new technologies and said this should be one of those moments. The appearance came a day after President Trump told the UN General Assembly he would not "stifle growth" of AI, dismissing global control efforts as a "globalist scheme."
In his UN General Assembly address, President Trump defended his approach to Iran, saying he must decide between reaching a deal with Tehran or moving to eliminate the Islamic Republic's government. He also highlighted a newly signed agreement with Denmark and Greenland's leaders expanding US military access to the island, and reiterated he would not restrict AI development, which he called 'super intelligence.' Iran's military called Trump's remarks a sign of 'strategic desperation.'
In a UN address, President Trump said the US rejects global efforts to regulate AI and announced he wants federal documents to replace 'artificial intelligence' with 'super intelligence,' arguing the word 'artificial' makes it sound fake. He also dismissed warnings about AI risks, comparing them to past claims about climate change, and said the US is leading China in the technology race.
US officials have publicly objected to Australia's proposed legislation that would let users opt out of algorithm-driven content recommendations, characterising the move as censorship. Separately, at the UN, President Trump downplayed calls for AI regulation, suggesting the technology be renamed "super intelligence" rather than artificial intelligence.
At the UN General Assembly, President Trump said he wants future US government documents to refer to artificial intelligence as 'super intelligence' or 'SI,' arguing the word 'artificial' makes the technology sound fake. He had previously run informal social media polls asking followers to choose between terms like 'superior intelligence' and 'super intelligence,' with 'super' narrowly winning. No formal executive order enacting the change has been issued.