Nations and Tech Experts Convene as AI Safety Summit Begins - Digit
2023-11-01 08:57 (EST) - Thom Carter
Bletchley Park, the Buckinghamshire country house which is cited as “the birthplace of modern computing,” will play host to the two-day summit, where the risks posed by AI’s advancement will be considered, and co-ordinated action to tackle those risks will be discussed.
Technology secretary Michelle Donelan will open the event by first welcoming attendees, and then setting out the UK government’s vision for safety and security to be at the heart of advances in AI, in order to leverage its opportunities. This is to be followed by comments by nations at the front of AI development, as well as the UK’s Frontier AI Taskforce.
Over the course of the two days, topics for discussion will include the potential risks to global safety stemming from AI misuse, especially regarding biosecurity and cybersecurity, and what AI developers should do to scale their technology responsibly, among other matters.
The US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and China are now among nations confirmed as attendees. Representatives from bodies The Alan Turing Institute, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Ada Lovelace Institute are also among the groups confirmed to attend.
The government further stated that leading AI developers with a presence in the UK, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Deepmind, will be there, aligning with what The Telegraph had previously reported.
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Speaking on the summit’s commencement, Donelan said: “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society, with limitless opportunity to grow the global economy, deliver better public services and tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
“But the risks posed by frontier AI are serious and substantive and it is critical that we work together, both across sectors and countries to recognise these risks.
“This summit provides an opportunity for us to ensure we have the right people with the right expertise gathered around the table to discuss how we can mitigate these risks moving forward. Only then will we be able to truly reap the benefits of this transformative technology in a responsible manner.”
As the AI Safety Summit begins, read our comprehensive rundown of the event, including who else is tipped to attend, what other associated topics will be deliberated, and what the UK tech industry wants to see in terms of outcomes.
