The UK and US have signed a landmark deal to work together on testing advanced artificial intelligence (AI).

The agreement signed on Monday says both countries will work together on developing "robust" methods for evaluating the safety of AI tools and the systems that underpin them.

It is the first bilateral agreement of its kind.

UK tech minister Michelle Donelan said it is "the defining technology challenge of our generation".

"We have always been clear that ensuring the safe development of AI is a shared global issue," she said.

"Only by working together can we address the technology's risks head on and harness its enormous potential to help us all live easier and healthier lives."

The secretary of state for science, innovation and technology added that the agreement builds upon commitments made at the AI Safety Summit held in Bletchley Park in November 2023.

The event, attended by AI bosses including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and tech billionaire Elon Musk, saw both the UK and US create AI Safety Institutes which aim to evaluate open and closed-source AI systems.