Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
World's Biggest Diplomatic Gathering Kicks Off Its Second Day; Syrian President Touts Progress in Rebuilding Country; Meta CEO to Unveil Future of AI Agent Muse; Responsible AI Future Foundation Partners with Emirates Foundation; Rubio Q&A after Meeting Russian Prime Minister; Trump's Record Unpopularity Creates Grim Midterm Picture for GOP; News Organizations Fighting Back against the Trump Administration's Media Ban. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired September 23, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm
Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
Now all eyes are on the United Nations for the second day of the General Assembly. We've just heard that the Syrian president was on a short time
ago. Right now, the president of Burundi is speaking and he will be monitoring -- we will be monitoring, of course, the next speaker, who's
going to be the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Later this hour we will bring you all the diplomatic headlines as they happen right out of New York. Right. Even as leaders at the U.N. grapple
with the risks of AI, Meta is leading a rebound of optimism around the technology, with new information about its agent, Muse. How this app is
inspiring investors and how you might use it.
And new CNN polling is revealing a lot ahead of the midterms, as president Trump's approval rating sinks to its lowest during either of his terms.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Right. The U.N. General Assembly's second day is underway, carrying the weight of expectation. That is because two presidents, both
grappling with acts of wars, are set to address the gathering of the world. Ahead the leaders of Iran as well as Ukraine, the speech by Masoud
Pezeshkian could start at any moment now.
We're watching and waiting for it. Iran's leader is expected to make some kind of response after president Trump threatened to annihilate his
country.
Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa was the first to speak today to the world's biggest diplomatic gathering. He made history last year when he
became the first Syrian leader to address the UNGA in almost 60 years.
You're seeing live images there of the UNGA. Burundi's president is currently at the podium. CNN's Jim Sciutto is in New York monitoring all
the action. We spoke last hour about what he'll be listening for when Iran's leader takes to the podium.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The sense I've gotten from speaking to diplomats here is that president Trump's
threats -- and it's not the first time he's threatened to annihilate Iran. You'll remember that language back in April of bombing them back into the
stone ages.
What leaders here see is a president who actually is impatient to end this war and frustrated that he has not been able to end this war and is
stretched and is aware of the limitations on U.S. military resources in the region.
So the likelihood that he follows through on that threat not high. And I imagine the Iranian president would have a similar reading. But he has to
respond to it.
At the same time, he has directed his advisers to meet with U.S. envoys. And as the president said, they spoke for three hours yesterday. So the
Iranian side, at least this part of the Iranian leadership, seems interested in negotiations with the U.S.
The trouble is, it's not the first time for that, either, Eleni, and we've seen those talks go nowhere, in part because there are, of course, other
elements, factions in the regime that are less interested or even openly opposing such negotiations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: I want to bring in Mohammad Ali Shabani in London. He's the editor of amwaj.media and a Middle East scholar.
Really good to have you with us, Mohammad. At this time, I've read some of your analysis and I think it's really fascinating to see you've got Masoud
Pezeshkian on U.S. soil. He's about to take the podium at the U.N.
This is just, you know, a day after we heard president Trump using inflammatory language, asking the question, are they going to make the deal
or do they face annihilation?
How would Pezeshkian respond to that language that we've heard before during the duration of the war?
MOHAMMAD ALI SHABANI, EDITOR, AMWAJ.MEDIA: So I think obviously, he will need to adjust his speech, which was prepared last week, I believe.
But overall, we've seen the Iranian military leadership, the IRGC, yesterday come out with a statement, essentially saying that Trump's
rhetoric is for domestic propaganda, they call it.
So they see a clear domestic political messaging and the fact that the hard line military would come out with something like that.
[10:05:00]
Dismissing it instead of, quote-unquote, "taking the bait" and going out and slamming Trump very harshly, I think we can expect Pezeshkian to push
back but still be measured, calling for dialogue to find a peace deal, find a way out of this conflict.
GIOKOS: You know, in your analysis as well, you mentioned the Iranian military, the IRGC. And there's a very clear message around whether we're
going to see a resumption back to the Strait of Hormuz pre-war levels. They say no. And that's also the case for Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
What we're seeing here is leverage that is being used by the Iranians. And I wonder how that's going to be taken by the United States. Keeping in
mind, your sources tell you that both sides were exchanging messages through Qatari mediators.
SHABANI: So absolutely, there have been a number of mediators, foremost among which we have Qatar. We also have Pakistan. And they've really been
working in the past few weeks to make the dialogue now in New York happen.
Fundamentally, the contention remains the same. Iran and the United States, you know, they're in a kind of a game of brinkmanship. They're basically in
a war that has gone on much longer than I think Trump expected.
Iran is looking at this as a -- as a conflict that may drag out even further. The military is saying it's prepared for a long war. It's also
looking at the U.S. congressional midterm elections coming up in November.
Having said all of that, I think that right now there is true impetus to avoid at least at a minimum further escalation. And that could mean that
what Iranians want is an end to a blockade for a blockade, meaning that they want to see potentially a resumption of traffic through the Strait of
Hormuz.
But in exchange, the Americans pulling back their naval blockade, stopping the kind of increased pressure we've seen in recent days, the aviation
blockade that we've seen as well, the additional sanctions, et cetera.
GIOKOS: Yes. So what's interesting is -- and this is the Iranian foreign ministry, telling state news media in Iran that there are conditions in
place for Iran to reengage with the United States. And that includes unfreezing of assets, you know, reversing the military blockade.
You're talking about the economic war as well. And I wonder who has stronger leverage here in terms of dictating how they will enter a war. And
I, again, just in the shadows of this president Trump, you know, really putting out a threat in terms of what he's willing to do.
SHABANI: Again, as I mentioned, I think the Iranian government, the Iranian leadership, sees this as a long war. They're prepared to continue
fighting for an extended period of time.
Having said that, clearly, I think, in relative terms, the damage here is mainly borne by Iran. Trump has terrible polling figures but we're not
seeing a massive drop in living standards in the United States.
In Iran, that's not the case. It's completely different. I think there is definitely impetus for both sides to wrap this up.
But having said that, I think the current situation is very difficult. The conditions Iran has put forward essentially mirror what the two sides
already agreed to in June in something called the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
Whether they can get back to that agreement, which collapsed in July, barely four weeks after it was signed, remains to be seen.
GIOKOS: OK, so very quickly, you know, you've got this new front with the Houthis, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait with regards to Saudi Arabia, the U.S.
holding back in terms of getting involved in that. I mean, there's just major concern about where this will go.
But you've also very explicitly said that Iran is sending mixed messaging and mixed signals. And it seems that so, too, is the United States.
So could you clarify for us in terms of how these sides can come together?
You know, what is going to be that that point where they go, OK, we agree to start talking again?
SHABANI: So it used to be that the Iranian leadership was quite divided about engagement. And what we're seeing now that, overall, the senior
leadership, at the very least, is behind negotiations. And I think the United States in Washington, it's the same.
Having said that, on both sides, we have, quote, "hardliners," both in the Trump administration, both in the Iranian leadership, who think that time
is on their side.
I think the real challenge right now is to have these mediators help find a middle path, a middle ground, to have this opportunity in New York to, at
the very minimum, try to avoid further escalation.
Whether they can achieve a breakthrough, I doubt, I very much doubt that but I think there's a possibility here to try to avert further escalation.
I think initial steps that can be taken in that regard include measures such as ending the blockade of Iranian ports.
On the other hand, Iran showing flexibility on the resumption of trade through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
[10:10:05]
GIOKOS: All right. Mohammad Ali Shabani, great to have you with us. Thank you so much.
All right. I want to turn now to the speech we heard in the last hour given by the Syrian president at the UNGA. Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke about his
country's progress in rebuilding nearly two years after the fall of the Assad regime. He credited the international community for its support but
had a pointed message for Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED AL-SHARAA, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The world is joyed (sic) about our return. But Israel is launching attacks against Syria.
There have been 500 airstrikes, more than 1,200 incursions and 300 detentions.
This is at odds with the orientation we're seeing at global level. It is reminiscent of a era that we thought it was long gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right. We're keeping tabs on the UNGA and Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran's president is currently at the podium. We'll check in on some of the
key messaging from Iran's president right after this short break.
And also still to come, two starkly opposed opinions on the future of AI. The U.N. chief warns against its potential dangers, urging leaders to
develop binding guardrails.
Meanwhile, Meta's CEO is set to unveil the future of its AI platform news as both users and investors give the app a double thumbs up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: All right. So Iran's president is speaking to the United Nations General Assembly. These are live pictures from the UNGA. This is Masoud
Pezeshkian addressing world leaders.
A short while ago, just before we came on air, the U.S. delegation walked out and Pezeshkian also showing photographs of some of the damage in Iran.
And, of course, we are keeping a close eye on the messaging here from Iran's president. And this is in the midst of his nation's war with the
United States.
And, of course, very notable, we heard from president Trump yesterday with two options, Iran either making a deal --
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: -- annihilation.
Importantly, we also heard from sources that, yesterday, the U.S. and Iranian delegations were sending messages to each other. Qatari mediators
assisting with the sharing of those messages. An important moment here at the UNGA.
All right. This is the U.S. delegation leaving the UNGA during Masoud Pezeshkian's speech.
[10:15:00]
Right. That's the moment.
All right. I want to return now to what we heard from the Syrian president at this event about an hour or so ago. I want to bring in Ibrahim al-Assil.
He's a senior research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Middle East Initiative, where he leads the Syria Transition Lab.
Good to have you with us. I mean, a lot happening here at the UNGA. I just want to get your thoughts on that sharp criticism, really important message
here from al-Sharaa toward Israel and where you see these tensions going, especially with Israel's elections just over a month away.
DR. IBRAHIM AL-ASSIL, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INITIATIVE, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: Thank you for having me. And indeed, you just
pointed one of the most interesting comments we've heard from president al- Sharaa in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly but also in other events in town yesterday.
Clearly, this time, President al-Sharaa is delivering a strong and a clear message about where he stands, where Syria stands today when it comes to
the relationship with Israel. He emphasized that the Golan Heights are Syrian and that this is not -- that the government, his government will not
concede to Israel.
He cited the decisions and the resolutions by the United Nations and that the majority, the vast majority of countries, voted that the Golan Heights
are Syrian.
He also mentioned other interesting numbers when it comes to Israel. He talked about incursions, more than 1,200 Israeli incursions inside Syria,
more than 300 detention cases and kidnapping -- what he said kidnapping cases from Syrian territories by Israeli forces.
And these are very interesting. This is something we didn't hear last year and probably one of the most important comments we heard from the president
today.
GIOKOS: Yes, absolutely. I mean, last night as well, really notable that al-Sharaa was asked about the possibility of an agreement with Israel and
the future of the occupied Golan Heights after Trump declared Israeli sovereignty over that land. Listen to his response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL-SHARAA (through translator): But once, when I visited him in the White House, I was -- I made a joke with him. And when he said about the Golan
Heights, that it is -- has a sovereignty of Israel, I said, why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis?
You don't own Golan Heights to give it to them but you own New Jersey. And I believe that New Jersey is full of Democrats and they are not voting for
Trump. So it will be good to give it to the Israelis.
So at least this is something that you own. But president Trump doesn't own the Golan Heights. So regardless of this joke, the Golan Heights, it is
owned by its own people. So it's neither the Syrian president or the American president or any other person to abandon them or to give them up
to others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: So he's talking about sovereignty here. But you know, he's also said that Syria and Israel have been in talks. But clearly they are
sticking points. The Golan Heights will be one of them.
What do you make of that comment?
AL-ASSIL: Absolutely. And I was at that event yesterday. And he added to that answer that Syria has been able to start and -- relationships and to
cooperate with so many different countries in the region and beyond, including former adversaries, who actually supported Assad, like Russia
before.
And he asked, why not Israel?
And in that answer, it's an interesting angle to look at it, because he also was talking about Israel as a normal country. And we're talking about
Syria, where the former regime never accepted to call Israel a state before.
So that's absolutely a different trajectory. Also, there is consistency from how they've been talking about the relationship with Israel since the
fall of Assad, since Ahmed al-Sharaa became the president in Syria.
And they say that we want to have a security agreement with Israel. We want to -- we want to go back to the disengagement agreement of 1974. We want to
go back to the lines of where they were in December 2024, up until Assad fell and Israel took new territories.
But at the same time, we're not going to concede any of the Syrian lands. And, of course, here there is a challenge.
But what we could understand that the Syrian government is clearly suggesting, they want to have a de-escalation agreement. They want to have
a security agreement that ends the ongoing violations and the ongoing incursions.
[10:20:00]
And then they want to move, probably to more negotiations about the future of the Golan Heights, where some creative solutions and some negotiations
could happen and take place to find a solution for this issue.
So I also want to talk about al-Sharaa's political future. In fact, he was asking, you know, a question came through about whether he would be willing
to run for president. I want you to listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL-SHARAA (through translator): I haven't thought about being elected. I still have three years in the transitional period. Right now, we are
focusing on serving people and that's what I have done in the past 20 years.
I didn't think about being in this position of presidency rather than developing the country economically and politically. So if this task needs
me to be there in order to be implemented, so I'm not going to be -- I'm not going to overlook that. Yes. And I will not be humble here. I will
nominate myself in order to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: "I will not be humble. I will nominate myself."
He's, you know, spoken about the transition period, absolutely vital. We know how, you know, how vulnerable democracy or, you know, transition can
actually be if that's what they're going to be focusing on.
But what do you make of that?
You were there last night.
So what do you make of the energy in the room when you heard that?
AL-ASSIL: I think most people were very interested in hearing that because he said very clearly that he won't hesitate, that he will run. But also we
were not surprised. We knew that he is interested in remaining in power and to continue to be the president of Syria.
I wish if we could also ask him if he's going to use the resources of the state and the resources that are at his disposal today as president in
those elections, are they going to be transparent elections?
Are they going to be fair elections for other candidates to also run for their campaigns without him leveraging or utilizing the resources he has,
today, as a president?
I also wanted to hear from him how the Syrian presidency is transitioning today. He inherited, that the power of Assad, that he inflicted lots of
pain. He had the power to inflict lots of pain on Syrians.
How is he transforming the Syrian presidency?
Is he going to constrain himself at some point and share power?
So all those questions are yet to be seen. But I think it was interesting yesterday to hear him, that he is interested. And he said that that's going
to happen by the mark of the end of the five years of the transition, which he promised before.
GIOKOS: Ibrahim, really important questions there, ones I'm sure will be answered in due time. Ibrahim al-Assil, good to have you on. Much
appreciated.
All right. I want to take you to live pictures from the United Nations General Assembly. Iran's president is currently at the podium. This is a
country that's currently at war with the United States. We're keeping track of some of the key messaging here.
The U.S. delegation walking out during this speech. We will bring you the latest news out of the UNGA in New York right after this. Stick with CNN.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:25:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. These are your headlines.
Iran's president is currently addressing world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. Now just moments ago, Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had been
victims of terrorism. He also blasted the United States, saying Washington does not respect any international laws. The U.S. ambassador walked out
during Mr. Pezeshkian's comments.
Emergency crews in southern Ukraine have battled fires after Russian strikes hit warehouses in Odessa. The region's governor says the facility
storing medicine, food and household goods were hit twice. The fires took several hours to bring under control.
An emergency hearing on president Trump's media ban is set for today after three news outlets, including CNN, filed a lawsuit in an 11th-hour court
filing last night. The Justice Department defended the decision to revoke White House press access from three outlets, saying it's a matter of
national security.
GIOKOS: Artificial intelligence is dominating events today at the U.N. General Assembly. It comes as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued
a stark warning against the power of AI and our failure to safeguard humanity against it.
Yet, as the U.N. chief warns against humanity increasingly handing power to machines, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is expected to announce new updates to
its AI agent, Muse.
The app hit the number one spot on Apple's app store earlier this week, not only driving up its stock price but pulling up chipmakers with it as
investors focus on the potential of AI rather than warnings against it. CNN Business tech editor Lisa Eadicicco joins us now.
Lisa, really good to have you with us. I mean, on one end, we're worried it's going to wipe out humanity; on the other end, here's an agent that
could change your life. You've been using some of -- you've been using Muse, I think. Tell me what you've discovered and the hype around this.
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yes. So the thing here that Meta is trying to do -- and it's not just Meta; pretty much every major
technology company is trying to create these agents that can actually do things on your behalf, such as browsing the web, sending emails, buying
things for you, making reservations at restaurants.
And I've been playing around with it. And I have found that it is useful for some of those tasks, especially things like taking notes from an email
and then putting them in a nice polished Google document, building plans to help me manage my time, things along those lines.
But the thing that I think really differentiates Meta's approach here from OpenAI and Google is that it does a lot of hand-holding, especially in the
beginning, when you set up the app. It offers a lot of kind of ideas for prompts and things and it really does a better job at demonstrating what it
can actually do.
But I do think there are a lot of broad challenges here. And I did also kind of learn about some of the shortcomings here with AI agents in
general. And I think, you know, one at the top of the list is this idea of trust and privacy.
For this agent and other agents to be really helpful, you have to give it access to things like your email account and your files and your contacts
in some cases. And you have to trust that it will handle sensitive information like addresses and credit card information in a really
responsible way.
So the success of Muse really depends on how much consumers are willing to make that trust. And so far, based on the app's success, it seems like it's
not really a roadblock yet. But I do think it's something that's top of mind moving forward.
The other piece of this here is that it's also dependent on whether app makers and online services are willing to play ball with Meta and the other
companies behind these agents.
Amazon, for example, has blocked access to Muse, so you can't use Muse to crawl Amazon to try to find items that you might want to buy. And experts
and analysts really see this as kind of being the beginning of what could be a broader pushback from legacy online services against the rise of these
new agents.
[10:30:07]
So we'll definitely be keeping an eye on that.
GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, it's really interesting. You've got to give away information to remove friction out of your life.
And just how much of that do you want to remove?
But I also want to focus on just the excitement around this, because chipmakers responded to it, because it clearly shows that there's, you
know, going to be continued demand.
You've got Meta stock doing pretty well as well. Take me through the excitement around this because we're focusing more on AI uses and how it
could shift things as opposed to the warnings. And Meta's up 1.2 percent as we speak.
EADICICCO: So I think there's so much excitement around this because, for years, a lot of these tech giants have been promising that AI agents are
going to change your life. They're going to change the way people interact with the internet. There's this idea that AI services are going to kind of
be the new portal to online life.
You know, in -- for the past two decades, it's really been the internet and mobile devices have been the key way that we get things done and the way
that we access information. And now there's this belief that AI agents are going to do that.
But really, until this point, AI agents were really mostly appealing to people that are more tech savvy or that use it for work, people that really
are early adopters and familiar users of the technology. A lot of companies have struggled to make this broadly appealing to consumers.
So I think that's why there's some excitement around what Meta is doing here, that it has been able to get a lot of people interested in this app
right away. But like I said, I do think there are going to be challenges. And the technology also isn't perfect. There were lots of times where it
was simply easier to do things myself.
Shopping was one example, not only Amazon but when I tried to shop for something on Target, I also ended up having to do a lot of things manually
because Target was blocking automated clicks.
So I think there's going to be a lot of wrinkles like that to iron out. But I do think there's a lot of excitement around this because this is being
viewed as a sign that AI, I think, is starting to break out into the mainstream a little bit more rather than just, you know, within the tech
community and within businesses as well.
GIOKOS: Yes, Lisa, I mean, it's so funny because, since I started using a bit of AI, I sometimes stop using the word manually. And I'm just, it's so
interesting, the words that are coming into our vocabulary, where we usually, you know, to describe something normal for humans.
Anyway, it's a world that's changing. Lisa, good to have you with us. Thank you.
Right. A lot of the noise surrounding AI has been alarming. But there are those who argue AI is also driving medical breakthroughs, helping develop
lifechanging technologies and giving people access to tools they might otherwise not be able to afford.
And that is exactly what the Responsible AI Future Foundation is trying to achieve. Today, it announced a partnership with the Emirates Foundation,
advancing a shared vision that AI should benefit all of humanity and improve people's lives.
The partnership aims to put responsible AI into practice by building skills and capacity and helping ensure its benefits reach people in areas of
critical need. Our Becky Anderson spoke to the foundation's newly appointed CEO, Mark Latonero, and asked him about the concerns surrounding the use of
AI. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK LATONERO, CEO, RESPONSIBLE AI FUTURE FOUNDATION: I'd say the concerns, though, that that the Responsible AI Future Foundation and others
are similarly concerned about also have to do with AI safety but on a different level.
Because while that debate is raging in Silicon Valley and other places in Washington, the fact of the matter is AI is being adopted in everyday life
in the global south, in other places and particularly in the global south where we work.
It's -- they're not frontier models. They're kind of lesser capable models but still models that are affecting people's everyday lives. And so what we
try to do is focus on those.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Let's talk about then, what responsible AI actually looks like in practice because, for many people out there, they'll
be thinking the last thing, you know, that most people we're taking away from this incredibly noisy, highly politicized debate amongst those who
have skin in the game is a sense of responsibility.
I mean, that, you know, there is, I think, a deepening trust deficit, a widening trust deficit.
LATONERO: You can think of responsible AI as a way and it's a way of minimizing those risks and managing them so you can realize the benefits.
But at the same time, bringing people at the center of this debate, not the models, not the companies but the people. I can give an analogy about what
responsible AI could mean.
And so, you know, in many cities around the world, every city has, you know, building codes and standards that are specific to that environment,
that context, that elevation and that place.
[10:35:08]
And, you know, if the builders and the architects met those minimum standards for those codes, the people who are living in those buildings can
trust that that building is safe and secure for them to use and potentially even thrive in. Responsible AI are those standards.
And the fact of the matter is, if those standards are incorporated into the models, both pre-deployment and after they're deployed into the world, and
that there's transparency about how those models lived up to those codes and how the companies integrated those, then that does engender trust in
the using those technologies.
But without that, I completely agree. Trust is difficult.
ANDERSON: But does that mean regulation?
Does that mean we're talking about industry standards here?
LATONERO: Yes. Well it means -- part of it is those standards, those codes that I talked about. And so, you know, one example of a way responsible AI
is -- can be utilized in the global south is -- one of the major techniques of responsible AI is an AI impact assessment.
And these are free to use and nonproprietary. It doesn't depend on the model. And you can think of an impact assessment as just a series of
questions.
How is the model being used?
How could it be misused?
What are the different risks if the model goes wrong?
Who's responsible to fix things?
And is the model fit for purpose?
And so through those questions, which we are going to be working with organizations in the global south to ask, we essentially come up with a
plan for -- to answer all those different questions.
ANDERSON: Donald Trump says he is not going to pump the brakes on AI safety, the big, you know, noisy debate out there at present, because he is
going to win the AI arms race versus China. He who wins the AI race wins.
What do you make of that statement?
LATONERO: You know, I think, the debates happening, you know, at that level, you know, are important and it has to do with great powers competing
with each other.
But what we're doing really at the Responsible AI Future Foundation is working with people on the ground who might not even understand or not know
what those debates are.
Again, it might be using models from one country or another. They're just using what's available, what might be more cost effective and those types
of things.
And then just seeing how they use those on the ground are important sort of, you know, I think these models will be diffused across the global south
no matter what happens with the competition happening on that level.
ANDERSON: You are going to get, you know, regularly cross-examined about whether or not this is simply window dressing for organizations that are,
you know, getting on behind-the-scenes stuff that, frankly, people don't understand. And there's a massive race out there.
And before people get their arms around it, you know, stuff will be done to the degree out there just this week. You know, there is that kind of very,
very worrying line that AI could kill us.
What do you say to that sort of, you know, that kind of criticism?
This is about window dressing at the end of the day.
LATONERO: We can have another conversation and judge us on what we are, you know, how we effect our mission, which is working with organizations in
the global south, getting them to adopt these codes and standards to help their usage become less risky, more beneficial and putting people at the
center.
And that transcends different, you know, corporate interests or other types of interests. And at the end of the day, it does help engender this trust
in a technology but that trust needs to be deserved and verified. And so the proof will be in the pudding there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right. U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio is speaking now in New York. And that's after meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey
Lavrov. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We all understand that. And the sooner we can reach that agreement, the less things will be destroyed
and the less people are going to die on both sides. That's what the president wants.
QUESTION: Secretary, if I could ask you about the meeting that president Trump had last night with acting president Delcy Rodriguez, can you tell us
about what was discussed?
What you what you shared, what she shared?
RUBIO: Well, it was a short meeting but it was an important meeting. And obviously, there are three things that were discussed that are important.
Number one is, look, at the end of the -- I'll go back to what we said from the very beginning. Venezuela is dealing with almost 20-something years of
destruction, OK, in economic and otherwise.
And then you add to that probably the worst earthquake in the region maybe ever, according to seismologists. I am not a seismologist, so I rely on
their expertise on it but certainly a very devastating one.
[10:40:00]
And by the way, an earthquake that could have been far worse had it hit inland versus on the coast. But it was very, very bad. The full death toll
is still not known.
And as you saw, they struggled to respond to it because they had not invested in the mechanisms to do so as a government. So Venezuela has a lot
of problems. They have probably the world's largest sovereign debt. That has to be restructured.
They have an economy that is still suffering from the remnants of kleptocracy and graft. And, you know, the fact that that regime was held
together, the glue that held the regime together was corruption.
And the fact that individuals tied to government got sweetheart deals that they have to disentangle from, there's 8 million Venezuelans living abroad,
many of whom would desire to come back to Venezuela, live there, invest there, rebuild their businesses there.
But they need to have confidence that that's going to happen. So there's a lot that needs to be fixed in order for Venezuela to be successful. So we
discussed the steps that remain to make that happen.
Debt restructuring is key to that. Obviously, you know, we want to be helpful in that regard. It has to be done in the right way.
The second and equally important, is there has to be a political transition process, which is underway.
Leadership from the 2015 national assembly have been engaged now in regular talks with the interim authorities to create the groundwork and rebuild the
institutions necessary in order to have free and fair elections in Venezuela, which is critical.
What we don't want to see, right, what we want to see is not only that you have free and fair elections but that you have an enduring republic. What
would threaten an enduring republic in Venezuela would be that someone is elected and they inherit a complete catastrophe, economic and social.
And then the whole project is endangered because now anything can happen. So we want to do two things at the same time. We want to help them rebuild
their economy. You know, not perfect but certainly to a level of stability that allows an elected government to succeed.
And second is build back all the things necessary in order to truly have free and fair elections.
What are the things that are required for that to happen?
You need media. You need media coverage. You need -- candidates need to be able to communicate with the public. And there have been positive steps in
that regard.
In just the last two weeks, underreported fact, but a number of independent Venezuelan outlets that had not been allowed to broadcast in Venezuela for
almost seven years are now broadcasting in Venezuela.
If you watch some of these opposition figures, they do press conferences. And there are literally 50 microphones on the table. If you had gone there
two years ago, there would have been three microphones at the table.
You need to rebuild political parties. Many of the leaders of these parties are still abroad. It's not just Maria Corina, who's a very brave woman, but
there are other people that are abroad.
These parties need the opportunity to rebuild, to organize, to become not protest movements but political movements. You need to have an electoral
process that people have confidence in.
In essence, are the votes going to be accurately counted and accurately reported?
So you need to have authorities that govern elections so people have confidence that those elections are real. So we made that point that, in
the end, for this project to be successful, it culminates in a free and fair election, in which the leaders of that country have the credibility
that the private sector will have confidence in.
But obviously, we also need, at the same time, work on the economic conditions that need to be improved, because if you have societal
breakdown, if you have economic crisis in Venezuela, it not only endangers elections, it endangers the survival of a democracy there, which is
ultimately what we want to see in Venezuela.
A stable democracy with a functional economy that allows its people to have prosperity and allows many of the millions of Venezuelans who have had to
leave the opportunity to go back and live in their country again, invest in their country again, participate in their country again.
QUESTION: For Ukraine, Ukraine says its refinery strikes inside Russia is aimed at targeting revenues that are main income source for Russia.
Why lean on a country that is being invaded and invaded?
RUBIO: What is that?
I'm sorry.
QUESTION: The U.S. asks Ukraine to stop targeting Russia's energy, you know, sites.
RUBIO: Well, there's --
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Russia doing it first --
(CROSSTALK)
RUBIO: Well, I mean, how do you know we haven't asked Russia to stop?
So look, I mean, when you talk to energy for the Russian side, the energy strikes they're facing are refineries and the oil and gas. For the
Ukrainian side, energy means their electrical grid. And going into winter with a fear of losing the electric grid.
So when you talk about energy, it means two things to different people. And what complicates it further is that energy strikes are at the core of the
tactical pursuit that both sides -- the Ukrainians are inflicting pain on the Russians by hitting their energy sector, which is a revenue source.
The Russian side is inflicting pain on the Ukrainian side by targeting their electric grid, especially as we head into winter.
So there's the challenge, is that both sides have identified energy as a strategic objective of their war aims. But it's having a global impact in
the case of oil and gas. And it's having a very real and immediate impact on the life in Ukraine, especially these threats to it. So that's why it's
not easy to overnight to just say, let's reach an agreement.
[10:45:00]
But it's something that I think is worth investing in, trying to make that happen because I think it would be beneficial to the world and beneficial
to both countries. I think if you ask President Zelenskyy, he would argue that the ability to protect his electric grid is at the core of their
interests.
And we, you know, so that's something that we can help achieve through a deal. And obviously, the Russian side is facing strikes it has not seen
before, deep in Russian territory and against key industries.
So that's what makes making a deal on that limited basis difficult. But it also is the reason why it's so important that we try. So we'll try. And I
think we're prepared to play a positive role if we can. And making that come about.
Yes, ma'am, right --
GIOKOS: All right. As you can see, secretary of state Marco Rubio speaking on the sidelines of the UNGA after meeting with his counterpart, Russian
counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
We just heard him talking about trying to get both sides, the Ukrainians and Russians, to stop targeting energy and electrical infrastructure. He
was talking about how it's having a global impact and trying to bring both sides to the table on that front.
He also spoke about acting president for Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and how they're working to help rebuild the groundwork to create a stable
country that would eventually lead to elections.
And he was talking about rebuilding institutions, specifically media, as well as the rebuilding of opposition parties and focusing on how that is
going to play out in Venezuela.
All right. Marco Rubio there, speaking in New York.
We are going to a very short break. I'll be back right after this. Stick with CNN.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. All eyes on the United Nations General Assembly underway this week in New York. And Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian
wrapped up his speech.
All right. He's -- this is in the midst of a nations war with the United Nations -- with the United States, rather. Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had
been the victim of terrorism and that the U.S. does not respect international laws.
He also said Iran will not surrender to military power and that it believes in diplomacy. Now during his address, the only U.S. delegate present in the
auditorium walked out.
Brand new CNN polling is ringing alarm bells for Republicans ahead of the November midterms. And president Trump seems to be a major factor. The
president's overall approval rating has sunk to 33 percent low, a new low, of course, across either term.
And when you dig into those issues, some of the numbers are even worse, including foreign affairs, where just 29 percent of those polled said they
approve of the job Trump is doing. CNN political director David Chalian helped break down the numbers a little earlier
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: A majority of Americans in our poll, 51 percent say they strongly disapprove.
[10:50:00]
Not just disapprove, but strongly disapprove. And his strong approvers has been cut in half in just the last year and a half. It's down to 13 percent
only who say they strongly approve.
You mentioned the issue set. I mean, look at the bottom here. Inflation, 20 percent approval. The Iran war, 26 percent. The economy, number one issue
by far, 27 percent. Middle class, 28.
These are the issues that are driving voters, and they are the president's worst issues in the poll.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: What does this say about the fight for Congress?
CHALIAN: Kate, you noted that so-called generic congressional ballot. Would you vote for the Democrat or Republican in the House today? Eight-point
advantage for the Democrats, 49 percent say they'd vote for the Democrat, 41 percent say they'd vote for Republicans. They only need a net gain of
three seats.
This would probably do that. Take a look at what's driving it, though. Independents really are fleeing from the president.
That margin for the Democrats goes up to 11 percent when you just look at independent voters. And among the most motivated to vote, Democrats have a
20-point advantage here. You said Donald Trump is a major factor.
I do not recall seeing this in the last 20 years or so, where we asked folks, is the president a factor in your vote? Usually, a plurality say
sort of, no, the president's not a factor. Not so now -- 44 percent, the plurality here, say they're voting in the midterms to oppose Trump. Only 19
percent say they're voting to support Trump
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right. We're going to a short break. Stay with CNN
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Well, the U.S. Department of Justice has revealed its argument against three media outlets, including CNN, that president Donald Trump
banned from the White House.
Its court filing argues White House access is, quote, "a privilege, not a right." That's despite First Amendment protections on free press. Also
includes letters to the three outlets justifying the ban.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter spoke to me last hour about the DOJ filing and today's emergency hearing on the media outlets lawsuit against
the administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This is a requirement by the judge ahead of a hearing that's going to happen in about six hours. The
government had to come up with some rationalization of president Trump's ban.
He seemed to do this kind of out of thin air last Friday. And when he announced that, he cited negative stories. He didn't like the negativity
that he was seeing and reading from CNN, MS NOW and "Politico."
The president mentioned nothing about national security last Friday but in this overnight filing by the Justice Department, the phrase "national
security" comes up 32 times.
So the Justice Department, Trump's Justice Department, is trying to suggest that recent articles and reports by these three banned news outlets have
been endangering the public and endangering the country.
This is, unfortunately, in line with Trump's rhetoric from the past 10 years. He infamously called the press "the enemy of the people" in 2017. So
now he's trying to wrap his ban in a national security blanket.
Similarly, kind of the same way he talked about the ballroom at the White House and that arch that he wants to build in northern Virginia. So he's
going to that national security argument.
And we will find out later today if a judge buys it or not. But already I'm hearing many legal analysts and First Amendment experts saying this sounds
like a nonsensical argument, an attempt to cite national security to get what Trump wants.
GIOKOS: Yes. And then the other words, it's a privilege, not a right.
[10:55:00]
So given this development, where do you think this case goes next?
STELTER: Privilege, not a right, is going to be a key part of the argument in court later today, because the case law indicates the following.
If the White House -- which is, of course, you know, a sensitive area that is controlled by the Secret Service, you have to have a badge to enter. And
that is, of course, a secure perimeter.
But recent case law has indicated that if the White House allows some reporters onto the White House grounds, then it cannot reject other
reporters based on their viewpoint or their perceived point of view. This is known as viewpoint discrimination.
And the case law from past court cases is very clear on that. So the judge, who is a Trump appointee, who previously sided with CNN in a 2018 case
involving a press pass, the judge is going to have to rely on that past case law.
And president Trump knows that. I think that's why Trump has been attacking the judge on social media and basically predicting that Trump's going to
lose this round at least. We'll see if the Justice Department appeals. We'll see how long it goes on for.
But in this case, the judge is likely to rule today or in the coming days. And experts tell me he will likely rule in favor of these news outlets.
GIOKOS: All right. So that was Brian Stelter for us.
And thank you so much for joining us for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. I'm Eleni Giokos. "ONE WORLD" is coming up next.
END
