Joint Announcement of the Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI

Written By Rufo Guerreschi

September 10th, 2024

We are pleased to announce the formation of the Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at facilitating a timely, democratic and efficient treaty-making process to build a powerful, global, federal intergovernmental organization that is able to manage the main risks of AI and equitably share its astounding opportunities - akin to the Baruch Plan proposed by the US to the UN for nuclear technologies in 1946. 

Convened by the Trustless Computing Association on June 24th, by July 1st it has been joined by the Transnational Working Group on AI of the World Federalist Movement, PauseAI, AITreaty.org, the International Congress for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence and the European Center for Peace and Development.

Aims of the Coalition

“Amidst an accelerating, reckless, winner-take-all race among states and their firms for ever more capable AGI and ASI forms of AI, there may still be time for humanity to properly come together to (A) ensure all AIs will be human-controllable and and largely controlled and shaped by humanity as a whole, (B) prevent catastrophic AI misuses and runway ASIs, and maximize the chances that, if ASI will emerge, it will result in a beneficial outcome for humanity, democratically imbued with the most widely-shared positive human values.

We are leading an early open coalition of NGOs and states to advance a much more timely, effective, expert and democratic treaty-making process for AI, based on the open intergovernmental constituent assembly model - akin to that which led to the US federal constitution. This new constituent assembly welcomes all states and citizens' representative entities, irrespective of their political orientation. Over a time frame as short as realistically possible - yet with extreme care - the coalition aims to build a strong, expert-led, federal and democratic governance of AI as it was attempted in 1946 for nuclear technologies via the Baruch Plan, while avoiding its failure due to vetoes.”

Partners and Members

While initial formal invitations were sent on June 24th, by July 1st already 5 leading and highly complementary organizations have joined as partners, en route to become members as the Coalition will be legally established:

Provisional 2024 Roadmap

Over the next four months, the Coalition will undertake a series of strategic and operational activities to lay the foundation for its ambitious goals:

  • Governance Structure: Develop a participatory, well-thought out, and effective governance structure, focusing on decision-making processes among partners.

  • Vision Sharing: Deepen the sharing of vision, objectives, and priorities among partners through in-person and remote meetings.

  • Strategy: Via participatory forums, further develop a theory of change and multi-year and quarterly plan that will best achieve our overarching goals before a potential arrival of superintelligent AI. 

  • Membership Expansion and Diversity: Expand membership to onboard the most capable, expert and mission-aligned NGOs, and ensure global diversity, especially from the Global South and China.

  • Fundraising: Dedicate significant efforts to fundraising, seeking contributions from both small and large donors.

  • Harnessing AI Risk Summit: Organize the 1st Harnessing AI Risk Summit in November, in Geneva or Rome, following the Pre-Summit held alongside the G7 in Italy in June, to catalyze an open coalition of globally diverse states to bring forward CBPAI.

  • Awareness Campaigns: Promote awareness among states and the public about the dire urgency and extreme risks of AI for safety and concentration of power and wealth, and how unprecedented democratic global coordination is needed.

  • Collaborative Initiatives: Work with or in parallel with leading NGOs, states and national security agencies on international initiatives - such as the International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI and the Guidelines for Secure AI System Development led by the NSA and GCHQ -  to analyze in depth the socio-technical and geopolitical challenges of a successful global governance of the development and use of most powerful AIs. It was the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, largely written by Oppenheimer, which provided the basis for the Baruch Plan in 1946.

This announcement was co-authored and is undersigned by the following in representation of the initial 6 partners of the Coalition:

  • Rufo Guerreschi

  • Wendell Wallach

  • Tolga Bilge

  • Robert Whitfield

  • Joep Meindertsma

  • Negoslav J. Ostojìc

View the website of the Coalition or download its contents PDF format for convenience.

Rufo Guerreschi

I am a lifetime activist, entrepreneur, and researcher in the area of digital civil rights and leading-edge IT security and privacy – living between Zurich and Rome.

https://www.rufoguerreschi.com/