---
title: Sam Altman Told Staff OpenAI Must Decide Within a Year How It Wants AI Governed
description: Altman told OpenAI staff it must choose within a year between an IAEA for AI, a CERN-style merger of labs and a plan he called terrible.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-21T21:46:10.939Z
updated: 2026-10-21T21:46:10.952Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/sam-altman-openai-three-ai-endgames-iaea
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/sam-altman-white-house-dinner-465082.webp
categories: Artificial Intelligence
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

Sam Altman told OpenAI employees at an all-hands meeting last week that the company must decide within the next year which of three proposals for pacing AI development it will push, The Information reported on October 19. He appeared to favor an international body modeled on the International Atomic Energy Agency, and he told staff that OpenAI cannot cede ground to rivals now.

The Information's Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati based the report on two people with knowledge of the meeting and a third with knowledge of specific quotes. OpenAI has not published the remarks or announced a position on any of the three plans.

## Altman Described Three Ways the Industry Could Pace AI

---

*This article is only available to registered readers. Visit the article URL to read the full piece.*