Twenty-nine countries have joined forces to create a new international body aimed at steering the future of artificial intelligence, according to reporting from Fast Company Middle East and India Today.
The group has established what is being called the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, a new institution launched in Shanghai. Per India Today, Chinese President Xi Jinping used the occasion to urge greater global collaboration on AI as the 29 nations stood up the Shanghai-based body.
The coordinated move lands at a moment when, as one report notes, artificial intelligence has become one of the defining technologies of the 21st century—transforming industries, reshaping economies and increasingly influencing national security. That mix of economic promise and security stakes is a large part of why so many governments want a seat at the table.
The push for shared governance echoes concerns voiced at the United Nations. According to UN News, Secretary-General António Guterres argued that AI must be shaped by "all of humanity," not by a handful of powerful states or companies. His framing captures the central tension the new organization is meant to address: whether the rules for a world-changing technology will be written broadly or concentrated in a few hands.
The sources describe the organization's formation and its high-profile political backing, but do not detail its specific powers, enforcement mechanisms or founding members beyond the count of 29 nations.
Why it matters: how the world chooses to govern AI—collectively or through rival power centers—will help decide who sets the rules for a technology already reshaping economies, security and daily life.