UK plans meeting on AI risks with OpenAI, DeepMind bosses

UK plans meeting on AI risks with OpenAI, DeepMind bosses

The UK government has invited bosses from some of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence firms to a meeting, people familiar with the matter said, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak crafts a policy to manage the risks and benefits of the technology.

The summit will be convened as soon as this month, with invitations likely for OpenAI chief Sam Altman and the leaders of Alphabet Inc.’s DeepMind and Anthropic, the people said. Sunak could be among officials in attendance, they said, requesting anonymity because the plans haven’t been finalized.

Anthropic, which recently opened an office in London, declined to comment Thursday. Representatives for OpenAI and DeepMind didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Altman is expected to be in London in the coming days and participate in an event Wednesday at an OpenAI event at University College London.

The UK is trying to embrace the fast-developing technology while ensuring it’s not used for nefarious purposes. During an appearance before the US Senate this week, Altman touted AI’s potential to make our lives easier while warning about the risks it poses to labor markets and elections.

Representatives from the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Asked in an interview Thursday whether he planned to meet Altman, Technology Minister Paul Scully said such conversations would happen at the secretary of state level.

“We’re looking at how we can use our position as a sort of global leader in AI development to convene the international community to make sure we can have some sort of some standards and some ground rules,” Scully said. “You’ve got to hear from practitioners, from industry leaders, from academia. I think we need ethicists and other people involved in that conversation as well, because these are tricky times.”