NEW DELHI: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Thursday (February 19) that more of the world's intellectual capacity could reside in data centers than outside them by late 2028, calling superintelligence a near-term governance emergency requiring urgent international coordination.

Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Altman said sufficiently advanced AI systems would eventually outperform corporate executives and research scientists. He warned some actors might accept authoritarian outcomes in exchange for breakthroughs like cancer cures.

Altman acknowledged the field lacks frameworks for handling superintelligence aligned with dictators, AI-enabled warfare between states or wholesale disruption of social contracts. He said the world would likely need an international body modelled on the International Atomic Energy Agency to coordinate AI development across borders and respond to emerging risks.

The remarks came at a summit attended by technologists and policymakers from across the world, some of whom have raised concerns about unequal access to AI computing power and the influence of Western technology companies.