KABUL (Pajhwok): Twenty countries and the European Union have called for international cooperation to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) remains under human control, including exploring the creation of an international body to set and enforce standards, Al Jazeera reported.
The joint statement was issued on Monday as world leaders prepare to discuss the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI at the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Germany, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore are among the countries that endorsed the statement.
The declaration, issued by the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, calls on governments and the technology industry to take immediate action to ensure AI is developed in accordance with international law and remains under “human direction, oversight and control”.
“To realise AI’s potential, industry, governments and society must act now,” the statement said.
It urged governments and regional organisations to develop and coordinate common standards, strengthen transparency and share reports of serious AI safety incidents.
The countries also called for exploring the establishment of an international institution capable of setting standards, enabling verification and bringing states together when specified AI capability thresholds are reached.
The statement said AI companies should develop transparent safety mechanisms, including mandatory testing before deployment and independent evaluation, to ensure increasingly advanced systems do not pose serious risks.
Signatories include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kenyan President William Ruto, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
The United States and China, the world’s two leading AI powers, did not endorse the statement. The declaration remains open for endorsement by leaders of other countries.
The initiative comes as governments and technology companies face growing pressure to address the safety and governance of increasingly capable AI systems.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI during a meeting at the White House on Thursday, as Washington and Beijing compete for leadership in advanced technologies.
Both countries have rejected calls to slow the development of AI, while the debate over how quickly the technology should advance has intensified among researchers and technology executives.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has called for a slower pace of AI development because of safety concerns. His position has received support from OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
The debate gained further attention following a cyberattack involving AI systems at Hugging Face in July, which highlighted concerns over the ability of advanced AI systems to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to real-world systems.
OpenAI said the United States should take the lead in international efforts to develop technical standards for advanced AI, arguing that Washington is well positioned to shape a global framework for the technology.
The UN-backed Independent International Scientific Panel on AI has also called for stronger safeguards, warning that the rapid development of AI requires greater international coordination and oversight.
hz/sa
