SINGAPORE, Sept 27 — Singapore has called for common global rules and safeguards for artificial intelligence (AI) to be established expeditiously, with the United Nations (UN) playing a critical role in the effort.
Delivering Singapore’s national statement at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly yesterday, Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said AI offered extraordinary potential but was advancing faster than the world’s understanding of its risks.
Balakrishnan said the global commons were best protected by collective action and rules agreed through an inclusive process because the UN was the only apex international institution with universal membership.
“We must explore all options, including the idea of a UN Framework Convention on AI Safeguards.
“We may also need an international institution that can perform for AI some of the functions that currently exist for setting common technical standards in other domains,” he said. The speech text was made available on the Foreign Ministry’s official website on Sunday.
Balakrishnan said the risks from AI did not remain confined behind borders, requiring rules that would form a shared global understanding of how nations collectively confront this challenge.
To this end, Singapore was committed to contributing to the cause and had recently joined a Finland- and Norway-led call for greater safety and security of frontier AI models, he said.
“We will continue to contribute through platforms such as the digital pillar for the Forum of Small States (FOSS), and by making our governance frameworks and testing tools available to all.
“But the work of building trust and laying the ground for global cooperation must begin now,” he added. — Bernama
