According to Cointelegraph, the world has taken a significant step towards unifying its goals and values related to artificial intelligence (AI) following a meeting of world leaders to sign the Council of Europe’s AI convention. The United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom are expected to sign the convention on September 5. The convention emphasizes human rights and democratic values as central to regulating public and private-sector AI models.

The AI convention would be the world’s first international treaty on AI that is legally binding to its signatories, holding them accountable for any harm or discrimination resulting from AI systems. It mandates that AI outputs respect citizens’ equality and privacy rights, providing legal resources for victims of AI rights violations. However, enforcement currently relies on monitoring, with no fines or other consequential reinforcements in place yet. The UK’s minister for science, innovation, and technology, Peter Kyle, described signing the treaty as an “important” first step globally, highlighting the diverse group of nations involved in its creation.

The treaty was initially drafted two years ago with contributions from over 50 countries, including Canada, Israel, Japan, and Australia. While this may be the first instance of an international treaty on AI, individual nations have been actively considering implementing more localized AI regulations. Over the summer, the EU became the first region to implement comprehensive rules governing the development and deployment of AI models, particularly high-level ones with significant computing power. The EU AI Act, which came into force on August 1, introduced significant regulations for AI through phased implementation and key compliance obligations. However, some developers argue that these regulations stifle innovation in the region, as seen with Meta halting the rollout of their latest products in the EU.

In the United States, Congress has not yet implemented a nationwide framework for AI regulation, but the Biden Administration has established committees and task forces for AI safety. Meanwhile, California lawmakers have been actively drafting and passing AI regulations. Recently, two bills have been pushed through the State Assembly and are awaiting a final decision from Governor Gavin Newsom. The first bill regulates and penalizes the creation of unauthorized AI-generated digital replicas of deceased personalities. The second, a highly controversial bill, mandates safety testing for advanced AI models and requires outlines for a “kill switch” for such models. California’s AI regulation is significant as it is home to the headquarters of leading developers like OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet (Google).