Governing the Frontier: Priorities for International Cooperation on Advanced AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and its advancing capabilities stand to revolutionize almost every aspect of our lives. However, current laws, regulations, and policy frameworks, especially on the international level, are insufficient to address and shape this frontier technology’s design, deployment, and impacts. The scale and complexity of this governance challenge will increase in the coming years as AI systems become more powerful and more entangled into our society. 

Of the governance initiatives that do exist, many current international mechanisms are too slow, fragmented, and incomplete to address the risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems. These international systems often overlap in mandate, allow for critical gaps on key issues, or lack the enforcement mechanisms necessary for effective oversight. As a result, the international community must strengthen current international AI governance mechanisms and establish new structures where required. This work must begin now, before the pace of AI development outstrips our collective capacity for governance.

This report proposes a focused agenda to address current shortcomings and strengthen global AI governance. We identify nine priority areas for action, structured around Four Pillars for Effective Global AI Governance. Some of our recommendations call for near-term actions achievable with limited coordination; others are ambitious and will require sustained political and technical cooperation. Together, they offer a roadmap for ensuring that AI development remains aligned with societal interests, and that safety measures are in place before, not after, a crisis emerges.