Experts said the AI industry can learn from aviation and nuclear safety regimes, with aviation-style regulations potentially involving an international governing body and national regulators ensuring compliance with globally agreed rules. Singapore AI Association president Jonathan Zhang said AI can compress a journey that took aviation most of the 20th century into a much shorter timeframe because the destination is already known: internationally trusted, independently verifiable safety assurance. Other experts said safety should not be seen as an impediment to innovation, and the AI industry could also learn from regimes managing nuclear weapons and financial risks. Flight Safety Foundation president and chief executive Hassan Shahidi said a strong safety framework can enable innovation because society is more willing to adopt new technology when it has confidence risks are being responsibly managed. On Sept 17, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said AI may eventually need a safety regime similar to civil aviation to foster trust, adding that Singapore must start building safeguards alongside AI adoption now. Aviation’s establishment of internationally accepted accident investigation rules, including the Paris Convention of 1919 and the 1944 Chicago Convention, led to the formation of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization in 1947. Shahidi said aviation’s learning culture and rigorous testing before deploying high-risk systems are relevant to AI. Singapore launched the AI Verify toolkit in 2022 and established the Singapore AI Safety Institute, formally designated in 2024.