U.K. Makes Its Pitch At Safety Summit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants the U.K. to be a major player in global AI governance, but do other countries agree?

Author

Delve AI Analyst Team
November 01, 2023

Attribution: Prime Minister’s Office, Open Government Licence 3.0

💂 The U.K.’s Global AI Safety Summit in underway, and the world will be watching 👀 to see if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can convince the world community to make London a centerpiece of the global AI governance agenda even as so many capitals compete for that prize.

Here's a quick summary of what to expect from the summit, based on tracking of the issue by our analyst team at DelveInto.AI: 

🗓 The Agenda:

  • Doomsday Scenarios: U.K. officials will focus the summit on existential risks posed by cutting-edge AI models, especially when those models fall into the hands of bad actors.

  • Out-Of-Control AI: The summit will also consider what happens if society loses control of powerful AI systems.

💼 The Deliverables:

  • An IPCC for AI? Sunak hopes the summit will help him launch an international AI expert panel, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

  • Bletchley Declaration: At the start of the summit, the U.K. unveiled an agreement signed by 28 countries and the EU agreeing to the risks posed by advanced AI and the need for global cooperation to address the technology.

  • Precedent-Setting: South Korea and France have already agreed to host follow-up summits.

🤝 The Guest List:

  • Power-hitters: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian PM Georgia Meloni, and U.S. VP Kamala Harris are attending.

  • Controversial: China sent a vice minister to the summit, though some would have preferred China not have been invited in the first place.

  • Industry and Civil Society: Tech leaders like Sam Altman and Elon Musk, as well as civil society leaders, are attending.

  • Missing: Several world leaders, including Presidents Biden and Macron, sent their regrets, leaving other government officials to attend in their stead.

🕵️‍♂️ The Intrigue:

  • Late Out Of The Gate: The U.K. wants to carve out a lane on global AI governance, but it faces competition from AI initiatives already underway among the G7 countries, the UN, and the U.S. and EU.

  • Critics Abound: Dozens of civil society leaders signed a letter this week criticizing the summit for marginalizing “the communities and workers most affected by AI” and for focusing too much on existential risk instead of the “here and now” risks.

🚀 The Stakes:

  • Legacy: Sunak sees global AI governance as a legacy project, and his uphill battle to reelection next year makes this summit the best shot at sealing his legacy.

  • Trial Balloon: For the rest of the world, the summit is a test of whether global powers, including the U.S. and China, can agree to concrete cooperation on the existential risks of AI.

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