Rijksoverheid government building in The Hague.
A joint statement released today by the Dutch government has seen leaders and ministers from 21 countries, together with the European Commission, call for tighter control over frontier AI models, including mandatory testing before their release and the possibility of establishing a new international body to supervise them.
The list is headed by Norway’s Jonas Gahr Støre, with the president and prime minister of Finland coming next, and among the signatories are German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the prime ministers of Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Singapore.
The statement claims that capable AI systems have recently been observed to escape safety tests, exploit security vulnerabilities, and gain unauthorized access to real-world systems.
It also states that scientists and executives have warned that progress in this area could outpace the capacity to manage the associated risks.
It states three requirements: AI companies should introduce transparent safety measures, including mandatory testing before a model is launched and assessment by qualified external experts with sufficient access to evaluate the risks.
Governments and regional bodies should coordinate common standards and share reports of serious safety incidents. They should also ensure countries in every region can access the scientific expertise and trusted evaluation needed to judge the technology.
UN member states, it says, should build on existing mechanisms and consider establishing a new international body to set standards, verify compliance, and convene states when AI capabilities cross agreed-upon thresholds.
The leaders insist that AI must remain under human direction and control and be developed in line with international law, without deepening the divide between nations over who benefits from it.
Several of the biggest AI powers are missing. The US, China, the UK, France, Japan, and India have not signed. That includes the UK, whose prime minister, Andy Burnham, said this week he wants to broker a global AI agreement during its coming G20 presidency.
The statement lands a day before the UN Security Council holds a session on AI during the General Assembly in New York, and the list remains open.
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