The Trump administration will host a high-level AI session alongside the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, scheduled the same day as a UN Security Council meeting on AI and security. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is expected to brief the Security Council, while US officials including Ambassador Mike Waltz, Jacob Helberg and Sarah Rogers will lead the US event. The US frames the meeting as an opportunity to discuss partnerships and the policy, legal and regulatory conditions for scaled AI adoption, even as President Trump has dismissed regulatory calls as a "hoax." UN Foundation official Claire Melamed said the UN is still defining its role and sees growing interest in UN-led crisis management for AI incidents.
Trump Administration to Host High-Level AI Session at UNGA as Security Council Meets on AI
The United Nations flag waves in front of its office building on December 16, 2025. - Juan Baretto/AFP/Getty Images
The Trump administration will convene a high-level event on artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, multiple people familiar with the plans told CNN. The US-hosted session is timed to coincide with a UN Security Council meeting focused on AI and security.
Who’s involved: The US side event will be hosted by US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jacob Helberg, and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers. An OpenAI spokesperson said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is expected to brief the Security Council meeting.
Agenda and framing: According to a person familiar with planning, the US is promoting the gathering as an opportunity to explore partnerships on AI and to discuss the "policy, legal, and regulatory conditions that enable adoption at scale, including free expression considerations." CNN has contacted the State Department for comment.
Political context: The event comes amid growing global concern about AI risks and security. At the same time, President Donald Trump has publicly criticized proposals for government regulation of AI, calling regulatory concerns a "hoax."
UN Role and Expectations
Claire Melamed, Vice President for AI and Digital Cooperation at the United Nations Foundation, said there are many AI-focused side events at the global gathering but it is "less clear how much it will feature in the main formal business." She noted the UN is still "setting the stage" and determining what role it should play in AI governance.
"If there's a huge AI-generated cyberattack and you're working in a hospital in Zambia or at a bank in Botswana, and this cyberattack starts to spill beyond your borders, you don't know what to do, who you're going to call? Well, often it's the UN," Melamed said, highlighting growing interest in a UN role for crisis management.
Melamed added she does not expect a firm deliverable to emerge from the Security Council session because of the divergent positions among permanent members — the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom — and the wider UN membership.
Many observers will also be watching the bilateral meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday, where AI is expected to be a key topic.
Bottom line: The US event aims to advance international partnerships and present policy priorities on AI adoption and governance, even as major global actors hold differing views on how to manage AI risks.
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