Speaking at the G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for a US-led coalition of democratic countries to establish common standards for developing, evaluating and governing advanced AI systems. Their proposal was backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who also advocated for international collaboration on AI safety and technical standards.
The world's leading artificial intelligence companies are urging democratic nations to form a coordinated alliance on AI, warning that fragmented regulation and geopolitical rivalry could undermine both innovation and security.
The executives argued that AI is becoming too strategically important for countries to develop incompatible regulatory frameworks or pursue isolated national approaches.
The appeal comes amid growing tensions over US restrictions on access to some of Anthropic's most advanced AI models, introduced over national security concerns. The move has sparked debate among allies, with several governments warning that limiting access to cutting-edge AI could weaken trust and cooperation between democratic nations.
Amodei urged governments to "resist the temptation to splinter" AI governance, saying democratic countries should work together to balance innovation with safeguards against risks such as cyberattacks, biosecurity threats and misuse of powerful AI models.
The AI leaders proposed closer cooperation on:
Common safety evaluations for frontier AI models
Shared technical standards and governance frameworks
Coordinated cybersecurity and national security measures
Greater collaboration between governments and AI companies
The discussions also included proposals for a US-led evaluation forum that would allow allied countries to align on testing and deploying advanced AI systems.
The debate reflects the increasingly strategic role of artificial intelligence as countries compete for technological leadership. While governments are racing to secure AI infrastructure and computing power, industry leaders warned that excessive fragmentation could slow innovation and make it harder to manage the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems.
French President Emmanuel Macron also emphasised the importance of cooperation between democratic nations, while European leaders called for stronger international coordination on AI development and access.
As AI becomes central to economic competitiveness, cybersecurity and national defence, the G7 discussions highlight a broader shift: AI governance is rapidly becoming a matter of global geopolitics rather than technology policy alone.
