Military News Today

The UK is currently over the next two days hosting the world’s first global artificial intelligence (AI) safety summit this week to examine the risks of the rapidly evolving technology and kickstart an international dialogue on regulation of it.

The summit is being hosted at Bletchley Park, famous for being where Britain’s WW2 code-breakers were based.

WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED?

The aim of the summit is to start a global conversation on the future regulation of AI, with Sunak hoping it will put the UK at the forefront of AI as a global influencer.

Globally there are no regulations focusing on AI safety and security, although some governments have started drawing up their own rules, such as the EU & US. The EU have gone as far as writing the first set of legislation governing its use for the European Union.

According to the summit agenda, there will be a series of roundtable discussions on threats posed by future developments in the tech. Topics will include how AI systems might be weaponised by hackers, or used by terrorists to build bioweapons, used to influence countries elections, as well as the technology’s potential to wreak havoc on the world.

Experts and regulators appear split on how to prioritise these threats, with the EU’s long-awaited AI Act prioritising potential infringements of human rights such as data privacy and protection from surveillance, versus the so-called existential risks which dominate much of the summit’s agenda.

WHY IS IT HAPPENING NOW AND IN THE UK?

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants the UK to be a global leader in AI safety, carving out a role for the country after Brexit between the competing economic blocs of the United States, China and the European Union.

The event comes almost a year after OpenAI released AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT to the public, sparking international debates over the rapidly-developing technology’s potential, with some experts comparing it to climate change or nuclear weapons.

WHAT WILL IT ACHIEVE?

When the summit comes to a close on Thursday, Sunak is expected to deliver a speech outlining what participants have agreed on, before joining Musk for a live discussion to be broadcast on X.

A recent Financial Times report said Sunak plans to launch a global advisory board for AI regulation, modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

When Sunak announced the summit in June, some questioned how well-equipped Britain was to lead a global initiative on AI regulation.

Since then, U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order governing the use of AI across the country, the EU has edged closer to passing its own AI Act, and the G7 agreed its own code of conduct for companies using the technology.

Last week, the UN announced it had formed its own AI advisory board – made up of a few experts from industry, research, and different governments.

But advocates say Britain has a role to play as an intermediary between the world’s three great power blocs – the US, the EU and China – and hope the summit will lay the groundwork for future international dialogue on the matter.