Rome, Sep 8 (IANS): National legislatures have a key role in charting the course for artificial intelligence (AI) and assuring cyber-security going forward, according to a statement agreed by representatives from the Group of Seven (G7) countries at the close of a summit in Italy.

The three-day G7 Speakers' Meeting in the northern Italian city of Verona included the leadership from parliaments in G7 member states, which comprise Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The European Parliament speaker has also been invited, reports Xinhua news agency.

The statement confirmed that the parliament of each country must contribute to "drafting the corpus of rules (governance) that will ensure the sound use of AI within the framework of the principles and rights to which we all subscribe," as well as to promoting public awareness on the issue and supporting more discussions on the related labour market.

During this year's G7 presidency, Italy has stressed the need to develop international standards for AI.

Geopolitical security and development were also discussed during the meeting.