US Leads 17 Countries in Kyoto ‘Super Intelligence for Science’ Declaration; Son Warns SI Can Be ‘Super Dangerous’
At the STS Forum in Kyoto on Oct. 4, OSTP Director Michael Kratsios led the United States and 16 other countries — including Japan, Korea, the UK, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the UAE, not China — in endorsing the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science, which calls for integrating “super intelligence” into research and widening researcher access to SI tools, data, compute and facilities. Speaking alongside Kratsios, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son said superintelligence in the wrong hands could become “super dangerous,” Bloomberg reported via The Japan Times — an uncharacteristic caution note from OpenAI’s largest named backer. Treat the text as aspirational: TNW notes the declaration says countries “endeavour” to act, while the White House release says they “pledged” and “committed.”
Washington’s new vocabulary for frontier systems just landed in a multilateral text — and OpenAI’s largest named backer used the same stage to say the capability can turn “super dangerous.”
At the 23rd Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Kyoto on October 4, 2026, White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios led the United States and 16 other countries in endorsing the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science. The White House release says the declaration recognizes an opportunity to harness “super intelligence” for science — autonomous experimentation at scale, new experimental lines of inquiry — and calls for wider researcher access to SI tools, scientific data, computing infrastructure and experimental facilities. Signatories named by the White House include Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. China is not on the list.
What the declaration actually asks for
Per the White House release, ministers endorsed three buckets: improving institutions of discovery (long-duration awards, rapid grants, prizes, new institutional models, metascience); harnessing SI for science (integration into workflows; expanded access to tools, data, compute, facilities); and cultivating talent (early-career support, hands-on instrumentation training, cross-sector fellowships). Kratsios tied the Kyoto Vision to his July 2026 report to President Trump, Science: A New Golden Age.
The Next Web notes a wording gap worth keeping: the declaration text says countries “endeavour” to act, while the White House release summarizing it says ministers “pledged” and “committed.” Nobody who endorsed the text has publicly objected to the stronger gloss, TNW reports — but for readers, treat this as an aspirational joint statement, not a binding treaty.
Son’s caution line
Speaking alongside Kratsios on the sidelines of the same forum, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said countries must build trust to control a threat larger than human conflict, and that superintelligence in the wrong hands can become “super dangerous,” Bloomberg reported (carried by The Japan Times, Oct. 5). Bloomberg called the remark uncharacteristic for an investor who has directed SoftBank funds totaling nearly $65 billion into OpenAI — consistent with SoftBank’s own recent disclosure of a $64.6 billion / ~13% cumulative stake after the final $10 billion tranche. Son also repeated his long-run forecast that AI would be at least 20% of global GDP by 2040 (~$46 trillion).
Son quotes are Bloomberg’s reporting via Japan Times; attribute them as such.
How to read it
The administration is exporting “super intelligence” as the preferred frame for science policy into a 17-nation club that includes seven European endorsers (Germany, Italy, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, UK per TNW). Son’s line gives OpenAI’s largest backer a public safety note days into that vocabulary shift — without changing SoftBank’s capital commitment. The document remains soft law: endeavour language, no China, no enforcement mechanism in the White House summary.
Limits
- Declaration content and country list are from the White House Oct. 4 release.
- Son quotes and “nearly $65 billion” framing are Bloomberg via The Japan Times; SoftBank’s primary cumulative figure is $64.6 billion.
- Endeavour vs pledged/committed contrast is from TNW’s reading of the declaration text versus the White House gloss — treat as aspirational.
- Event was Oct. 4 (stale relative to some digests); Japan Times/Bloomberg piece dated Oct. 5.
Sources
- The White House: U.S. Leads International Coalition to Endorse Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science (October 4, 2026)
- Bloomberg (via The Japan Times): SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has rare cautionary note on AI safety (October 5, 2026)
- The Next Web: SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says superintelligence in the wrong hands could be “super dangerous” (October 4, 2026)