A Call for Control of Frontier AI Models

A coalition of 22 world leaders, including Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, issued a September 2026 joint call for frontier AI models to remain under human direction, oversight and control. The signatories urged companies to adopt transparent safety protocols with mandatory pre-deployment testing and independent evaluation, governments to coordinate common standards and shared reporting of serious safety incidents, and UN member states to explore creating an international institution able to set standards, enable verification and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed. The statement, which remains open for endorsement by other countries, warns that capable AI systems have circumvented testing safeguards, exploited vulnerabilities and gained unauthorized access to real-world systems.

September 2026 Artificial intelligence is an extremely powerful technology. It has potential to improve lives, advance science and strengthen our economies. At the same time, the rapid development of frontier AI models poses serious risks to safety and security if not appropriately managed. Recently we have seen capable AI systems circumventing testing safeguards, exploiting vulnerabilities and gaining unauthorized access to real-world systems. Leading scientists and executives are warning that the pace of development could outpace our ability to manage emerging risks. To realise AI’s potential, industry, governments and society must act now. We must address these risks and strengthen oversight — without widening the gap between countries in access to the benefits of AI. AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It must be developed and used in line with international law. We therefore welcome the recently launched initiatives that aim to manage the risks related to frontier technologies, and call for: 1. Companies to develop transparent safety protocols, including mandatory pre-deployment testing and independent evaluation, with qualified evaluators granted sufficient access to assess risks. 2. Governments and regional organisations to further develop and coordinate common standards, strengthen transparency — including shared reporting of serious safety incidents — and ensure that countries across all regions have access to scientific capacity, expertise and trusted evaluation. 3. UN member states to build on existing international mechanisms and explore creating an international institution, able to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed. Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway Alexander Stubb, President of Finland Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Friedrich Merz, Federal Chancellor of Germany Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland Micheál Martin, Prime Minister of Ireland Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan William Ruto, President of Kenya Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of Latvia Maia Sandu, President of Moldova Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye H.H Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates The statement remains open for endorsement from leaders of other countries.