OpenAI is pushing for international standards on advanced AI development, focusing on recursive self-improvement (RSI). With RSI, AI systems increasingly automate the research needed to build the next generation of AI, potentially accelerating progress dramatically. “Fully autonomous RSI is not happening today,” OpenAI writes, and it should only be pursued “until it can be done safely.” Without mature safeguards, humans could lose track of AI development, and AI could become “more dangerous, less aligned, and, on the whole, a danger to people.”

OpenAI proposes that the US lead on global technical standards, building on national AI safety institutes and organizations like CAISI and ISO. That would include shared measurement methods, incident reporting, and rules for human oversight of automated AI research. A UN scientific panel recently raised similar concerns, warning about loss of control over autonomous agent swarms and proposing international AI safety cooperation modeled after aviation, nuclear energy, and cybersecurity frameworks.