Published on 02/11/2023
AI is a rapidly evolving field that has many benefits and challenges. It can help us solve complex problems, improve our health, enhance our creativity, and protect our environment. But it can also pose risks to our privacy, security, ethics, and social justice. That is why it is important to have a global dialogue on how to ensure the safe and responsible development and use of AI.
The UK government has recently hosted the first global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, where the pioneers of computing and cryptography worked during World War II. The summit brought together leaders from 28 countries, including the US, the EU, and China, as well as representatives from the tech industry, academia, and civil society. They signed the Bletchley Declaration, which recognizes the urgency of understanding and managing the potential risks of AI, especially at the frontier of innovation.
The summit also featured a video message from King Charles, who compared the advent of AI to the discovery of electricity. He urged the participants to address the challenges of AI with “a sense of urgency, unity and collective strength”. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the summit as a “landmark achievement” that shows the world’s commitment to ensuring the long-term future of our children and grandchildren.
The summit also highlighted the need for international cooperation and openness in AI. China’s Vice Minister Wu Zhaohui called for global collaboration to share knowledge and make AI technologies accessible to the public. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the US would launch its own AI Safety Institute after the summit. UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said that the next virtual summit would be hosted by South Korea in six months, followed by an in-person summit in France in a year.
However, not everyone is optimistic about the prospects of AI. Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, who attended the summit, warned that AI could lead to humanity’s extinction if it is programmed by people who want to eliminate humans. He made this claim on comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast on Tuesday, saying that some people might think that humans are bad for the planet and should die out.
He said that if AI is controlled by such “extinctionists”, it would have no qualms about wiping out humanity. He was speaking ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Sunak at the summit.
Many experts disagree with Musk’s prediction. Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta and former deputy prime minister, who also attended the summit, said that people should not be distracted by “speculative, sometimes somewhat futuristic predictions”. He said that people should focus on the more immediate challenges posed by AI, such as its impact on jobs, democracy, and human rights.
