Evian, France - OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman urged world leaders at the G7 summit on Wednesday not to surrender control over artificial intelligence to the companies building it, calling on governments to set global standards for deploying the rapidly advancing technology.

"Do not cede your responsibilities to AI labs like mine," Altman told leaders and tech executives during a session of the summit in the French Alpine resort of Evian-les-Bains, according to excerpts of his remarks released by the company.

The appeal from the head of one of the world's most valuable AI firms effectively asked democratic governments to keep the most consequential choices about the technology out of corporate hands – including his own.

"We develop the technology, and the citizens of the free world make the rules," Altman said. "Technologists have special knowledge about AI, but they don't have any special wisdom about humanity."

Altman told leaders that the question of whether AI is useful "has been settled" and that within a year or two he expects systems of "astonishing power" capable of reshaping human life on a scale unmatched "since the harnessing of electricity".

His remarks came at a time when the US and Europe disagree about how tightly AI should be controlled.

The European Union – including G7 members France, Germany, and Italy – has passed strict rules that sort AI systems by how risky they are and place tough requirements on those that could cause the most harm.

The US, under President Donald Trump, has moved in the opposite direction, rolling back rules in hopes of speeding up new ideas and staying ahead of rivals like China.

Yet the Trump administration has also temporarily banned foreigners from accessing the most powerful AI models made by US giant Anthropic, citing national security concerns and fueling fears that the US will tightly control access to the crucial technology.

Altman stressed that OpenAI, as "an American company", would be governed by US law but said it recognised "the sovereignty of the democratic nations in this room".

The remarks came on the final day of the three-day G7 summit hosted by France, which gathered leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the US, along with invited guests including Brazil, India, and Kenya.