AI CEOs Sit at G7 Table: A New Global Power Dynamic

At the Évian‑les‑Bains summit, the G7’s traditional diplomatic choreography gave way to an unprecedented tableau: AI CEOs occupying seats usually reserved for presidents and prime ministers.

AI CEOs at G7: Redefining Statecraft

The tableau featured OpenAI’s Sam Altman beside former President Donald Trump, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis next to French President Emmanuel Macron, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei flanking the French host. Ministers and senior officials crowded the periphery, snapping photos and seeking a glimpse of the tech magnates. Altman conducted bilateral talks with six heads of state, a total ↑ 6 engagements in a single day. In a closed‑door session he warned,

“Do not cede your responsibilities to AI labs like mine. No single lab should be making the decisions.”

Hassabis warned that the summit marked “the foothills of the singularity” and called for a U.S.–led standards body, echoing concerns voiced by Reuters and Bloomberg about the geopolitical tilt of AI power. Amodei urged democracies to resist fragmentation, insisting that “the West must stay united on AI rollout.” The gathering underscored a looming reality: the corporations that power the future economy are being treated as sovereign actors, reshaping the architecture of global security and governance.