AI Safety Connect calls for global AI Safety Coordination

As technology advances at an unprecedented pace, so too do the risks associated with powerful, agentic, and increasingly opaque AI systems. At the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, AI Safety Connect (AISC) has put AI governance firmly on the global agenda, calling for coordination on AI safety that matches the urgency of climate change and nuclear security.

For the digital construction sector, where AI is being embedded into Building Information Modelling (BIM), predictive analytics, and generative design tools, the discussion around AI safety and regulation is no longer abstract. The policies and frameworks developed today will shape how construction technology evolves in the coming decades.

From initiative to international platform

Launched during the Paris AI Action Summit in early 2025, AI Safety Connect has quickly evolved from an initiative into a recognised international platform for AI safety and governance. Its mission is clear: to provide a neutral convening space where global stakeholders—scientists, frontier AI labs, governments, and policymakers—can address the risks of an unchecked race toward superintelligence.

The 2025 UNGA gathering was organised by:

The AI Governance Coordination Project
FAR.AI
MILA
The Future Society

The event was co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Singapore, Canada, and Brazil to the United Nations, along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Why AI safety matters to digital construction

While the construction sector is not developing frontier AI systems, it is increasingly dependent on them. From AI-driven generative design tools to predictive safety systems on worksites, AI models are making critical decisions with real-world implications. If advanced AI systems are deployed without sufficient governance, the risks could include:

Data bias in construction AI models, leading to structural design flaws.
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities, exposing digital twins and BIM models to manipulation.
Automated decision-making risks, where opaque AI systems make high-impact choices without human oversight.
Cross-border regulatory fragmentation, where global firms must navigate inconsistent AI governance frameworks.

AI Safety Connect highlights the importance of aligning governance frameworks with technological development so that AI in digital construction remains trustworthy, ethical, and safe.

AI safety: a global challenge, a shared responsibility

Every quarter brings breakthroughs in generative AI, machine learning, and agentic systems. These advances make AI systems more powerful—but also harder to control. No single frontier lab, company, or country can contain the risks on their own.

Key risks include:

Unintended consequences of autonomous AI agents.
Deliberate misuse of AI technologies in critical infrastructure.
Opaque decision-making processes that reduce accountability.

AISC emphasises that AI safety is not just a technical issue—it is now a diplomatic one. As Cyrus Hodes, Co-Founder of AI Safety Connect, explained: “With AI systems advancing at unprecedented speed, we need the same kind of international cooperation that has governed nuclear security or climate change.”

For the construction sector, this means engaging early in discussions about AI regulation in construction technology, ensuring that innovation is balanced with safety, accountability, and transparency.

UNGA 2025: a milestone gathering

At the UNGA 2025 event, AI Safety Connect brought together around 100 high-level participants from:

United Nations agencies
National governments
Leading AI research labs
Academia and civil society

The focus areas included:

Coordinating policymakers’ responses to advanced AI development across borders and industries.
Exploring the impact of advanced AI on government responsibilities and the role of emerging AI Safety Institutes.

Launching the Global Call for AI Red Lines, an international campaign defining unacceptable uses of AI systems. This initiative has been endorsed by over 200 prominent figures, including Nobel laureates and former heads of state, alongside more than 70 organisations working on AI governance.

Building a framework for AI in digital construction

For the digital construction industry, the outcomes of AI Safety Connect can have direct implications. As AI governance frameworks evolve, they will influence how construction companies adopt and integrate AI into operations. Priorities for the sector include:

Clear international standards for AI in BIM and digital twins.
Ethical use guidelines for generative AI in architectural and engineering design.
Transparency frameworks to ensure explainable AI in automated decision-making.
Cybersecurity resilience to protect digital infrastructure.
Cross-sector collaboration between construction technology providers, regulators, and policymakers.

By embedding AI safety principles early, the digital construction sector can harness AI responsibly while safeguarding innovation.

Turning point

The AI Safety Connect discussions at the 80th UN General Assembly mark a turning point in how the world approaches AI risks. By placing AI safety alongside climate change and nuclear security in terms of urgency, AISC underscores the need for global coordination, multilateral dialogue, and shared responsibility.

For the digital construction sector, this global conversation cannot be ignored. As AI continues to shape design, project delivery, and operations, international governance frameworks will determine how safely and effectively the industry can innovate. Engaging in AI safety discussions now ensures that the construction sector remains both a beneficiary of AI innovation and a responsible steward of its risks.

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