UK to host world’s first AI safety summit

UK government announced that the artificial intelligence safety summit, which aims to encourage responsible development of AI, will be hosted at Bletchley Park. The renowned building is the home of the World War II Codebreakers, who in 1941 helped break the Enigma Code. The event will take place on Nov. 1 and 2 and will “consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action.”  

 The government said in a Thursday press release that it would host the meeting, which will convene international governments, leading AI firms and experts in research and it will discuss the “safe development and use of frontier AI technology.” 

“To fully embrace the extraordinary opportunities of artificial intelligence, we must grip and tackle the risks to ensure it develops safely in the years ahead,” U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement on Thursday. 

“With the combined strength of our international partners, thriving AI industry and expert academic community, we can secure the rapid international action we need for the safe and responsible development of AI around the world.” 

It is not yet clear which companies, governments, or researchers will be invited to attend the event. 

The frontrunners of the AI race are mainly large U.S. tech companies like Microsoft — a prominent backer of ChatGPT creator OpenAI — Google, which owns generative AI chatbot Bard, and Meta, which is responsible for the Llama open-source large language model.