British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, currently on a visit to the US, has announced plans for the first-ever global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) to be held later this year. The summit aims to bring together key countries, leading tech companies, and researchers to address the safety measures required to evaluate and monitor the significant risks associated with AI.
"AI has an incredible potential to transform our lives for the better. But we need to make sure it is developed and used in a way that is safe and secure," stated Sunak. "No one country can do this alone. This is going to take a global effort. But with our vast expertise and commitment to an open, democratic international system, the UK will stand together with our allies to lead the way."
While the participating countries have not been confirmed at this stage, it is expected that India will be among them. Sunak emphasized the importance of like-minded allies and companies working together to develop an international framework that ensures the safe and reliable development and use of AI.
Downing Street highlighted the UK's strong position to convene discussions on the future of AI. "The UK is a world leader in AI – ranking third behind the US and China. Our AI sector already contributes GBP 3.7 billion to the UK economy and employs 50,000 people across the country," stated Downing Street.
The summit, to be hosted in the UK this autumn, will focus on the risks posed by AI, including frontier systems, and explore ways to mitigate these risks through internationally coordinated action. It will provide a platform for countries to collaborate and develop a shared approach to ensure the responsible and ethical development of AI.
In addition to the summit, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will convene the first-ever briefing of the United Nations Security Council in July, addressing the opportunities and risks of AI for international peace and security.
Meanwhile, US tech giant Palantir has chosen the UK as its new European headquarters for AI development. "London is a magnet for the best software engineering talent in the world, and it is the natural choice as the hub for our European efforts to develop the most effective and ethical artificial intelligence software solutions available," said Alexander C. Karp, Co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies Inc.
Prime Minister Sunak and US President Joe Biden are currently engaged in wide-ranging discussions in Washington DC, with a focus on strengthening both economies and cementing joint leadership in the "technologies of the future."
In further efforts to enhance expertise in AI and related fields, Sunak also announced an increase in the number of scholarships funded by the UK government for postgraduate study and research at UK and US universities, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
(With PTI Inputs)
