UK to target potential AI threats at planned November summit

The United Kingdom will be hosting the world’s inaugural international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) safety in November 2023. This event seeks to establish the U.K.’s presence as a mediator between the United States, China and the European Union in the critical field of technology post-Brexit.

The summit scheduled for Nov. 1–2 will place significant emphasis on the potential existential threat that AI represents, a concern shared by numerous legislators. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who envisions the U.K. as a center for AI safety, has also expressed apprehensions about AI being exploited by criminals and terrorists for the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Sunak will be the host for approximately 100 attendees at Bletchley Park. Among the distinguished guests will be United States Vice President Kamala Harris, alongside Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who will be joined by a gathering of legislators, AI visionaries and scholars.

The summit’s objective is to initiate a global conversation on AI regulation, as the agenda released by the U.K. government for the event this week encompasses talks regarding the unpredictable progress of technology and the risk of human loss of control over it.

A group of influential members of parliament in the United Kingdom had earlier advised the government to collaborate with democratic allies to address the potential misuse of AI, emphasizing London’s aim to be a key player in advancing the emerging technology.

In the weeks after Sunak announced the summit, Google published an analysis suggesting further investment in AI would provide a 400-billion-pound ($488 billion) boost to Britain’s economy by 2030, while OpenAI announced it would open its first office outside of the U.S. in London.

In August 2023, Cointelegraph reported that Sunak is set to spend 100 million pounds ($130 million) to buy thousands of computer chips to power AI amid a global shortage and race for computing power.