Mastercard, IBM, and SoftBank, alongside others, have asked the G7 to form a new organisation to improve international co-operation on important tech governance issues.

The organisation, called The Data and Technology Forum, would provide recommendations on tech governance across countries, rather than providing strict rules.

The new body would work across issues such as cybersecurity, cross-border data transfers and controlling the development of AI and will work with existing organisations such as the World Trade Organization.

The Data and Technology Forum would imitate the Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB), which was formed by the G20 after the 2008 financial crisis, to identify issues which could disrupt the financial system.

The other 25 signatories included Visa, Nexi, Toyota, Mercedes, and GlaxoSmithKline.
The news comes after executives from companies such Tesla, Google and Microsoft have called on world governments to further regulate the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Data inoperability has also been a point of international contention in recent years; the EU–US Privacy Shield which proposed a framework for regulating the exchange of personal data between the European Union and the United States was abandoned in July 2020.

Michael Froman, vice chair and president of strategic growth at Mastercard, said: “We believe a similar forum [to the FSB] is urgently needed to prevent fragmentation and strengthen international co-operation and consensus on digital governance issues.”

He added: “There is a window of opportunity — right now — to strengthen collaboration.”

“Now there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated,” wrote Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai in a recent opinion column in Financial Times. “It is too important not to. The only question is how to approach it.”

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