Countries call for international AI oversight framework
Twenty countries and the European Union have urged common AI standards, safety-incident reporting and exploration of an institution for verification and oversight.
Twenty countries and the European Union have called for international cooperation to keep artificial intelligence under human direction, oversight and control.
The joint declaration, issued on Monday ahead of discussions on AI risks at the United Nations General Assembly, urges governments and industry to develop AI in line with international law and coordinate common standards.
It also proposes exploring an international institution that could set standards, enable verification and convene states when AI capability thresholds are crossed. The proposal is not an established global regulator, and the declaration remains open for endorsement by other countries.
Named signatories include Australia, Germany, South Africa, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. The United States and China, the two leading AI powers, were not among the signatories.
The declaration comes amid wider debate over AI safety, including calls from technology executives to slow development. OpenAI has separately urged the United States to lead international work on technical standards for advanced AI.
Al Jazeera reported that the statement was released by the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The declaration calls for serious AI safety incidents to be reported and for international cooperation to keep the benefits of the technology from being distributed unevenly.
