World leaders adopt Seoul Declaration at AI Seoul Summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol listens to United States Vice President Kamala Harris during an online leaders' session of the AI Seoul Summit at Yeongbingwan guesthouse in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of presidential office

Leaders of major global powers adopted the Seoul Declaration at the AI Seoul Summit, agreeing to prioritize AI safety, innovation and inclusivity in international AI governance discussions, according to the Korean presidential office, Tuesday.

The AI Seoul Summit kicked off its two-day run on Tuesday, with President Yoon Suk Yeol and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak co-hosting an online leaders’ session.

The leaders of the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Australia, Singapore, and the European Union, along with representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, joined the session.

Participants of the session also included eleven entities from the private sector, including notable names such as Google DeepMind, Samsung Electronics, Naver, Amazon Web Services, OpenAI, and Meta.

The AI Seoul Summit follows up on the inaugural event held at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom last November. Additionally, a ministers' meeting is scheduled to take place in Seoul.

Following the leaders' session, participants unanimously adopted a declaration recognizing the interrelated goals of AI safety, innovation, and inclusivity. The declaration aims to address the broad spectrum of opportunities and challenges posed by the design, development, deployment, and use of AI.

This year's summit marked a significant advancement from the previous year, with the Seoul Declaration highlighting the global community's increased efforts to identify the risks of AI. It emphasized the importance of interoperability between AI governance frameworks, aligned with a risk-based approach, to maximize benefits and address the broad range of risks associated with AI.

The Bletchley Declaration from last year saw participating nations agreeing to prioritize "identifying AI safety risks of shared concern." However, discussions were still in their early stages, and each nation held varying perspectives, preventing a detailed identification of risks at that time.

During Tuesday's summit, leaders acknowledged the significance of AI summits and emphasized their value. They also announced plans for countries to convene at the AI Action Summit early next year.