Singapore to sign joint statement on AI safety with 21 other nations
SINGAPORE: On Sep 22 (Tuesday), Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that the city-state is supporting a statement on AI safety along with 21 other countries.
In line with Singapore’s tech-forward nature, Mr Wong acknowledged how Artificial Intelligence should be harnessed for the benefit of Singaporeans, but added that because of the technology’s power, safeguards are necessary, some of which require international cooperation.
“That is why Singapore is supporting a joint statement on AI safety initiated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, together with leaders from around the world.
We must continue to find practical ways to build common ground and bring more countries along. AI holds tremendous promise, but it must always remain under human control and oversight,” he wrote in a social media post.
The statement, which can be found here, has been signed by a number of European leaders, including those from Germany, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands; the President of the European Commission; and also by the Prime Ministers of Australia and Canada; the Presidents of Kenya and South Africa; and leaders from Türkiye, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
It noted warnings from scientists and the executives of tech companies about AI developing too quickly to effectively manage risks, and called for immediate action from the industry, governments, and society.
The statement is asking for the following:
Companies to develop transparent safety protocols, including mandatory pre-deployment testing and independent evaluation, with qualified evaluators granted sufficient access to assess risks.
Governments and regional organisations to further develop and coordinate common standards, strengthen transparency — including shared reporting of serious safety incidents — and ensure that countries across all regions have access to scientific capacity, expertise and trusted evaluation.
UN member states to build on existing international mechanisms and explore creating an international institution, able to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed.
Conspicuously absent from the signatories are the leaders of the two global superpowers, the United States and China.
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Last week, a number of prominent industry leaders called for a slowdown in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), citing substantial, perhaps even existential, safety risks.
Among them are Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, and even SpaceX head Elon Musk.
“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” Dr Amodei wrote, calling for “pacing the rate of capabilities advancement so that risk prevention has time to keep up… Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.” /TISG
Read also: Amid global calls for AI slowdown, Minister Josephine Teo shares her take