Singapore proposes UN framework convention on AI safeguards at 81st General Assembly

Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called on the UN to lead the creation of common AI rules, including rigorous testing standards and limits on autonomous systems, speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on 27 September 2026. He proposed that the UN could eventually establish an international institution for AI analogous to the International Atomic Energy Agency or International Telecommunication Union. Balakrishnan identified three categories of AI risk: loss of human control over autonomous systems, rogue actors using AI to create weapons of mass destruction, and widespread economic and social upheaval.