SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural convening of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes kicked off on Wednesday in San Francisco, U.S. state of California.
The two-day meeting, co-hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. State Department, brought together technical experts on artificial intelligence (AI) from each member's AI safety institute, or equivalent government-backed scientific office.
The International Network of AI Safety Institutes was launched during the AI Seoul Summit in May. The initial members of the network are Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"AI is the defining technology of our generation," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in an earlier announcement. "We want the rules of the road on AI to be underpinned by safety, security."
"Strengthening international collaboration on AI safety is critical to harnessing AI technology to solve the world's greatest challenges," said U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.
Members have expressed a shared ambition to advance the science of AI safety and recognize the importance of international coordination in ensuring that the benefits of AI development and deployment are shared equitably around the globe, the announcement said.
The goal of this convening is to kickstart the network's technical collaboration ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025. The departments will also invite experts from international civil society, academia, and industry to join portions of the event to help inform the work of the network and ensure a robust view of the latest developments in the field of AI, according to the announcement. ■