The proposed coalition comes at a pivotal moment, as countries look more determined than ever to reduce dependence on foreign AI models and strengthen domestic AI capabilities. It also follows claims of increasingly powerful AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude Mythos with advanced cyber capabilities, raising concerns that they can cause major disasters in the wrong hands.

Recently, Anthropic disabled access to its newest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the US government imposed export controls on the models, citing national security concerns. The AI startup is currently locked in negotiations with the Trump administration over the issue.

Across Europe and the UK, many government officials viewed the move as a stark reminder of how heavily they rely on US-based AI model providers. Similarly, in India, it reignited a long-running debate over technological sovereignty. Several Indian founders, investors, and policy experts took to social media, debating whether the country should accelerate efforts to build its own AI infrastructure, invest more aggressively in open-source alternatives, or continue relying on foreign frontier models.

Who should lead the coalition?

Addressing the group on Wednesday, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei reportedly said that areas of international cooperation should include structured access to frontier models, and trade of chips and critical components that excludes China. Countries should cooperate to address the risk of AI in cyber, bio-terrorism, and areas of intelligence, he added.

In his comments, Sam Altman called for “an international forum for discussion that establishes globally accepted standards for testing, provides expert and impartial analysis of capabilities and risks, and serves as a venue for cooperation among nations,” as per OpenAI. Urging G7 countries to take control of AI governance, Altman said the debate over whether AI is useful was over and that far more powerful systems would emerge, potentially reshaping the global economy ​and scientific discovery. But he added ​that it was for democratic ⁠governments — not AI companies — to decide how it is governed.

“Do not cede your responsibilities to AI labs like mine. We develop the technology, and the citizens of the free world make the rules,” Altman was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reportedly agreed that the US could lead an AI coalition. Other non-US leaders in the room also acknowledged that the US “certainly could play the lead role in working to establish” standards around AI, according to Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s global affairs chief, who is said to have attended Wednesday’s closed-door meeting.