Singapore proposes UN framework for global AI safeguards

Singapore has proposed a United Nations framework convention on artificial intelligence safeguards, as governments grapple with risks ranging from autonomous systems going out of control to the use of AI to develop weapons of mass destruction.



Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Sunday (Sep 27) that the UN should play a central role in bringing countries together on common AI rules because it is the only top-level international institution with universal membership.



"We must explore all options, including the idea of a UN framework convention on AI safeguards," Dr Balakrishnan said in Singapore's national statement at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.



He said countries may also need an international institution for AI that performs some of the functions carried out in other fields by bodies such as the International Telecommunication Union, which sets technical standards, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which conducts verification.



Dr Balakrishnan identified three broad categories of risk: Humans losing control of autonomous systems; rogue actors using AI to create biological weapons or other weapons capable of mass destruction or disruption; and emerging economic, social and political upheaval.