Sixteen leading companies at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence have pledged to develop the technology safely, at a time when regulators are struggling to keep pace with rapid innovation and emerging risks.

The companies, which include US giants Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, as well as firms from China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, made the commitment on Tuesday at a global summit.

They were backed by a broader declaration from the Group of Seven (G7) major economies, the EU, Singapore, Australia and South Korea at a virtual meeting hosted by British prime minister Rishi Sunak and South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea's presidential office said nations had agreed to prioritise AI safety, innovation and inclusivity. "We must ensure the safety of AI to protect the wellbeing and democracy of our society," Yoon stated, noting concerns over risks such as deepfakes.

Participants highlighted the importance of interoperability between governance frameworks, plans for a network of safety institutes, and engagement with international bodies to build on previous agreements addressing risks.

Companies also committing to safety measures included Zhipu.ai (backed by China's Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan and Xiaomi), the UAE's Technology Innovation Institute, Amazon, IBM and Samsung Electronics. They vowed to publish safety frameworks for measuring risks, avoid models where risks could not be sufficiently mitigated, and ensure governance and transparency.

Of the commitment from the companies, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “It’s a world first to have so many leading AI companies from so many different parts of the globe all agreeing to the same commitments on AI safety. These commitments ensure the world’s leading AI companies will provide transparency and accountability on their plans to develop safe AI.

“It sets a precedent for global standards on AI safety that will unlock the benefits of this transformative technology.”

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