US and 16 countries endorse the 'Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science' on using 'super intelligence' for research
On Oct 4, 2026, at the 23rd Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Kyoto, the US and 16 other countries endorsed the "Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science", led by White House science adviser Michael Kratsios. The non-binding declaration names three priorities: improving discovery institutions, "harnessing Super Intelligence for science" (including autonomous experimentation at scale) and developing scientific talent. China is not a signatory.
Key facts
- Endorsers (17): Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, UAE, UK, US
- Priorities: (1) improve discovery institutions (long-duration awards, rapid grants, prizes, new institutional models); (2) harness Super Intelligence for science, expanding researcher access to SI tools, data, compute and experimental facilities; (3) invest in students and early-career researchers
- Kratsios: 'The way we make scientific discoveries has changed, and the Kyoto Vision is a recognition of that shift and a call to action.'
- Uses the White House's new term 'super intelligence' for AI, adopted by executive order on Sept 29, 2026 (TNW)
- Non-binding: the declaration text uses 'endeavor' (four times) and contains no 'will'/'shall', deadlines or funding amounts, while the White House release says ministers 'pledged' and 'committed' (FourWeekMBA comparison of the release and the PDF)
- Builds on 'Science: A New Golden Age', the US science-enterprise plan Kratsios delivered to Trump in July 2026
- Same forum: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, speaking alongside Kratsios, warned that superintelligence in the wrong hands could be 'super dangerous' (separate entry)
What happened
The US used Kyoto's annual STS Forum to win endorsements for a science-policy declaration built around AI ("super intelligence") as a research tool, including robotic, autonomous labs. Seven European countries (Germany, Italy, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and the UK) signed, as did Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the UAE. France and China did not.
Why it matters
It is the first multilateral text to adopt the Trump administration's "super intelligence" terminology, and it frames AI mainly as a way to speed up science rather than as a risk to manage. It came a week after Trump rejected global AI governance at the UN, so it shows the US building coalitions on its own terms.
Changelog
- 2026-10-04: created
People
Donald Trump Masayoshi Son Michael Kratsios
Related events
- Trump signs executive order 'Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence', ordering federal agencies to replace 'AI' with 'Super Intelligence (SI)' ★★★
- Trump at the UN General Assembly 'totally rejects' any global scheme to control AI and renames it 'super intelligence' ★★★★
- SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's biggest outside backer, warns superintelligence in the wrong hands is 'super dangerous' ★★★
Sources (4)
- officialWhite House: U.S. Leads International Coalition to Endorse Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science
- pressTNW: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son says superintelligence in the wrong hands could be 'super dangerous'
- pressFourWeekMBA: Kyoto Vision text says 'endeavor', not 'pledged'
- pressLatestLY: US, 16 nations back new Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science
id: 2026-10-04-kyoto-vision-golden-age-of-science · updated 2026-10-04 · open in the interactive timeline