Seoul AI Summit Declaration

The Seoul AI Summit Declaration is an international agreement adopted at the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024, co-hosted by South Korea and the UK, addressing AI safety, innovation, and inclusivity through cooperative governance frameworks.

The Seoul AI Summit Declaration is an international agreement adopted at the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024, co-hosted by the South Korean and British governments. The declaration addresses artificial intelligence technology and related challenges and opportunities, building on earlier international efforts to govern the development and deployment of advanced AI systems. It commits participating nations to foster international cooperation on AI governance frameworks that are interoperable between countries.

The declaration emerged from the second major global meeting on AI safety, following the AI Safety Summit held in the United Kingdom in November 2023. At the earlier Bletchley Park meeting, participating countries agreed to prioritize identifying AI safety risks of shared concern. The Seoul Declaration extended this commitment by recognizing the importance of AI innovation alongside safety considerations.

Background

The AI Seoul Summit took place in May 2024 as the second such meeting following the AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom. The Bletchley Declaration from the November 2023 meeting established a consensus among participating nations on the need to identify AI safety risks of shared concern. The Seoul Summit built on this foundation by adding a focus on the opportunities presented by AI technology.

The summit was organized against a backdrop of rapid advances in artificial intelligence systems, including large language models and generative AI technologies. The rapid deployment of these systems by companies such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic had prompted governments worldwide to consider regulatory responses.

Notable Attendees

The summit was attended by leaders of Group of Seven countries, including the United States, Canada, France, and Germany, as well as South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. Representatives of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the European Union also participated.

Corporate representation included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and executives from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and South Korea's top portal operator Naver. The presence of industry leaders reflected the summit's emphasis on collaboration between governments and the private sector in AI governance.

South Korean AI Safety Center

During the summit, South Korean officials announced plans to establish an AI safety research center in Korea. Minister of Science Lee Jong-ho stated that South Korea was planning to open an AI Safety Institute in 2024. The minister also expressed the country's intention to strengthen cooperation for the development of international standards for AI safety.

The proposed center was designed to join a network of similar institutions aimed at boosting the global safety of AI. This initiative positioned South Korea as a significant actor in international AI governance efforts, complementing similar institutions established in other countries following the Bletchley Summit.

Seoul Declaration for Safe, Innovative and Inclusive AI

The Seoul Declaration was adopted at the summit by leaders representing the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The declaration commits signatories to foster international cooperation to help develop AI governance frameworks that are interoperable between countries.

A key element of the declaration is the integration of the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems. This code, developed under Japan's G7 presidency, provides guidance for organizations developing advanced AI systems. The declaration advocates for the development of human-centric AI in collaboration with the private sector, academia, and civil society.

The declaration emphasizes the need for governance approaches that can work across different national regulatory systems while maintaining safety standards. It recognizes that AI technologies operate across borders and that effective governance requires international coordination.

Seoul Ministerial Statement for Advancing AI Safety

At the ministerial meeting of the summit, participants adopted the Seoul Ministerial Statement, a joint statement calling for the improvement of the safety, innovation, and inclusivity of AI technologies. The statement was adopted by ministers from Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as a European Union representative.

The ministerial statement included a specific focus on developing low-power chips for AI applications. This reflected concerns about the massive energy consumption expected as the AI industry rapidly expands. The emphasis on energy-efficient hardware recognized the environmental and infrastructure challenges posed by large-scale AI deployment.

The broader participation in the ministerial statement compared to the leaders' declaration demonstrated the expanding international consensus on AI governance. Countries from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia joined the ministerial statement, indicating growing global engagement with AI safety issues.

Global AI Summit Series

The Seoul Summit formed part of an ongoing series of international meetings on AI governance. The series began with the AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom in November 2023 and continued with the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024. Subsequent meetings in the series were planned to address different aspects of AI governance and safety.

This series represents an attempt to create sustained international dialogue on AI issues, rather than one-off meetings. The progression from Bletchley to Seoul demonstrated an evolution in focus from purely safety concerns to a broader agenda encompassing innovation and inclusivity.

Significance and Impact

The Seoul AI Summit Declaration marked a significant step in international AI governance by combining safety commitments with recognition of AI's potential benefits. The declaration's emphasis on interoperable governance frameworks acknowledged the global nature of AI development and deployment.

The summit's outcomes reflected a growing consensus that AI governance requires both government regulation and industry cooperation. The participation of major AI companies alongside government leaders signaled recognition that effective governance requires input from those developing and deploying the technology.

The declaration's integration of the Hiroshima Process code of conduct provided a concrete framework for organizations developing advanced AI systems. This represented progress toward operationalizing AI safety principles that had been articulated in more general terms at the Bletchley Summit.

The establishment of the South Korean AI safety center added to a growing network of national institutions dedicated to AI safety research. These institutions were expected to contribute to the development of international standards and best practices for AI development.