Google DeepMind CEO calls for US-led global AI watchdog

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and joint winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on AI-based protein prediction, published a blog post titled "A Framework for Frontier AI and the Dawning of a New Age" proposing the creation of a global AI regulator. The watchdog would resemble existing financial regulators like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and would be composed of leading independent experts and representatives from open-source communities.

Critically, the organization would have the power to evaluate frontier models before they are released and to coordinate an industry-wide slowdown if any system is judged too risky to deploy. Hassabis argues that the US should lead this initiative, citing the country's economic and technical standing as the best foundation for setting global standards. He emphasizes that the need for such regulation is becoming urgent as AI systems grow in sophistication, stating that artificial general intelligence (AGI) "is probably only a few short years away."

According to Axios, Hassabis has spent months quietly building political and industry support for his proposal. He has briefed the Trump administration, other AI labs, and European officials, and hopes to have the new organization operational before the end of the year. When speaking to Axios, Hassabis said that "the noises I've been hearing [from the Trump administration] are very positive." The proposal is the latest in a series of efforts by Hassabis and other industry leaders to establish coherent governance frameworks for increasingly powerful AI systems and to mitigate their risks. Currently, neither a global set of rules governing AI specifically nor a comprehensive set of rules nationally in the US exists.

Hassabis' proposal arrives at a moment when AI governance remains fragmented. The article notes that there is no global set of rules governing AI specifically, and the US itself lacks comprehensive national rules. This regulatory vacuum has prompted multiple voices in the AI industry and economics to push for more structured oversight. Hassabis himself has been active on governance questions; last month he signed a statement calling for tougher protections against AI-aided bioweapons production, and he is now building a broader coalition for systematic regulation. The choice of the US as the proposed leader reflects Hassabis' view that the country's economic and technical position makes it best suited to set global standards. His framing of AGI as arriving within a few short years—combined with references to standing in "the foothills of the singularity"—underscores the urgency he sees for establishing guardrails before more advanced systems arrive.

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