On November 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that the DOC and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) hosted the inaugural convening of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes (AISI).

The DOC highlighted that the US will serve as the inaugural chair of the International Network of AISIs, whose initial members include Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

The DOC highlighted that the inaugural convening will address three high-priority topics that will benefit from international coordination, including:

• managing risks from synthetic content;
• testing foundation models; and
• conducting risk assessments for advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The DOC also noted that the International Network of AISIs adopted a Joint Mission Statement, which detailed priorities to:

• advance research on risks and capabilities of advanced AI systems;
• work towards building common best practices for testing advanced AI systems;
• facilitate shared approaches such as interpreting tests of advanced systems; and
• actively engage countries, partners, and stakeholders globally and at all levels of development by sharing information and technical tools in an accessible and collaborative manner.

Notably, the International Network of AISIs also adopted a Joint Statement on Risk Assessment of Advanced AI Systems, establishing a shared scientific bases for risk assessments, which should be:

• actionable;
• transparent;
• comprehensive;
• multistakeholder;
• iterative; and
• reproducible.

The DOC further detailed that the International AISI completed its first joint testing exercise, led by the U.S. AISI, UK AISI, and Singapore Digital Trust Centre, on multi-lingual AI models.

At the US level, the DOC noted the establishment of the new Testing Risks of AI for National Security (TRAINS) Taskforce, led by the U.S. AISI. The TRAINS Taskforce is responsible for enabling coordinated research and testing of advanced AI models across critical national security and public safety domains.

You can read the press release here, the Joint Mission Statement here, the Joint Statement on Risk Assessments here, and access information on the TRAINS Taskforce here.