Responsible AI governance requires collaboration

• Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly, but regulatory mechanisms are struggling to keep up.
• The solution is to adopt a multi-party collaborative approach to address technological risks and seize technological opportunities.
• To this end, the World Economic Forum’s Coalition on AI Governance brings together actors from the private and public sectors to discuss and generate concrete actions to guide responsible development.

We are gathered at a critical moment in history. Human progress is increasingly intertwined with the influence of algorithms and networks, which affect our lives. The rise of artificial intelligence is not only a technological leap, but also a profound transformation, with both opportunities and challenges.

Therefore, collective oversight of advanced AI is not only beneficial, but imperative. Countries are moving quickly to regulate AI and harness its potential to promote social and economic transformation in order to reduce risks. The global situation is at a critical juncture, with a balance between the rapid development of AI technology and the urgent need for governance to guide this rapidly developing technology.

Multi-party participation and cooperation guide the development of artificial intelligence

In the past few months, the international cooperation agenda around AI has made important progress. The UK held its first AI Safety Summit , and 29 countries, including China, EU countries and the United States, signed the Bletchley Declaration , agreeing to work together to ensure that AI is designed and deployed in a responsible manner. The EU AI Act is in the final stages of negotiation and, once passed, will establish the most comprehensive framework applicable to the development and use of AI. The leaders of the Group of Seven agreed on international guiding principles on AI and a voluntary code of conduct for AI developers in the Hiroshima AI Process. The United Nations announced the establishment of a high-level advisory body on AI . In addition, US President Biden issued an Executive Order on Safe, Reliable and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence , setting new standards for the safety and security of AI.

However, while a declaration is necessary to raise awareness, it is not enough on its own. The real work lies in the subsequent actions. The World Economic Forum has launched the AI ​​Governance Alliance for this purpose.

The Alliance is composed of more than 200 influential people from industry, academia, civil society and government. Its purpose is not only to bring stakeholders together, but also to promote mutual commitments to take joint action on some of the most pressing issues in AI governance, including jointly finding cutting-edge preventive measures, protecting more AI systems, and promoting the application of cutting-edge knowledge of generative AI in all sectors and industries. Driven by its members, the Alliance aims to design, co-create and help a wide range of decision-makers around the world develop more adaptive and resilient forms of AI governance.

From discussion to action

Guided by the Forum’s multi-stakeholder approach, the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) has successfully held the Leaders’ Summit on Responsible AI , released the Presidio Recommendations and launched the Alliance on AI Governance . Building on these developments, this week the Forum hosted the AI ​​Governance Summit . More than 180 leaders in the field of AI came together to exchange knowledge, discuss strategies and develop practical plans at a fair and inclusive summit.

The summit agenda includes a plenary outlook session on key AI topics, a global dialogue on immediate applications of generative AI, a strategic session to advance initiatives and their impact, and workshops to further advance existing workstreams of the Alliance.

The insights and recommendations raised at these meetings will not only set a precedent in important discussions and provide real momentum for responsible AI development, but will also encourage action by world leaders and organizations. These important outcomes will influence the future work of the Forum’s AI Governance Alliance and greatly advance the relevant dialogue ahead of the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (“Winter Davos”), where AI will also be a focus of discussion.

Now is the time to act

In the evolving field of artificial intelligence, the urgency of promoting responsible AI development has never been greater. Therefore, the call to action is clear: the time has come to guide AI towards ethical and inclusive progress that enhances the well-being of society through global cooperation, innovation and practical measures. The Forum and the AI ​​Governance Alliance heed this call and are committed to working with the international community to jointly confront the challenges and opportunities of this rapidly evolving technology.

Author of this article:

Li Xiang, Member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum, Head of Artificial Intelligence, Data and Metaverse

This article originally appeared on the World Economic Forum's Agenda blog