The Role of AI Safety Institutes in Contributing to International Standards for Frontier AI Safety

Abstract

International standards are crucial for ensuring that frontier AI systems are developed and deployed safely around the world. Since the AI Safety Institutes (AISIs) possess in-house technical expertise, mandate for international engagement, and convening power in the national AI ecosystem while being a government institution, we argue that they are particularly well-positioned to contribute to the international standard-setting processes for AI safety.

In this paper, we propose and evaluate three models for AISIs’ involvement: Model 1 – Seoul Declaration Signatories, Model 2 – US (+ other Seoul Declaration Signatories) and China, and Model 3 – Globally Inclusive. Leveraging their diverse strengths, these models are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they offer a multi-track system solution in which the central role of AISIs guarantees coherence among the different tracks and consistency in their AI safety focus.

Our 2024 Research Fellow Kristina Fort has worked with her mentor Oliver Guest on the role of AI Safety Institutes in shaping international standards for frontier AI safety, proposing models to enhance their involvement in global standardization processes.