AI in spotlight as UK summit gets underway

Attending a high-profile summit on artificial intelligence, or AI, in England, a Chinese official said China is willing to enhance communication on the safe use of AI, and promote the building of an open, fair, and effective international framework on AI governance.

Wu Zhaohui, vice-minister of science and technology, made the remarks at the first plenary session of the AI Safety Summit, which was held by the United Kingdom government at Bletchley Park, the birthplace of the world's first programmable digital electronic computer.

Delegates from dozens of nations, AI related companies, and organizations all attended the two-day event.

Wu introduced to the audience the global initiative on AI governance proposed by China during the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in Beijing in October.

He stressed that all parties should uphold a people-centered approach in developing AI for good, and strengthen the risk management of the emerging technology based on the principle of respect and mutual benefit.

In order to close the digital gap in technology development, the representation of developing countries should be encouraged, and the Global South should have more say in the governance of AI, Wu added.

A statement on the risks around artificial intelligence had been agreed ahead of the opening of the summit, where the Bletchley Declaration on AI safety was signed by representatives from 27 countries and the European Union — every nation present at the summit, according to the UK department for science, innovation, and technology.

A raft of funding was announced by the UK government ahead of the gathering, which included a 118-million-pound ($143-million) program to ensure the UK workforce is braced for a world that will be increasingly dominated by AI.

The spending will be used for skills training to make sure workers are "future-proofed".

Michelle Donelan, the UK's secretary of state for science, innovation, and technology, said: "The UK is at the very forefront of the global race to turn AI's enormous potential into a giant leap forward for people's quality of life and productivity at work, all while ensuring this technology works safely, ethically, and responsibly."

She said the government will update the nation's skills base, "meaning British people can reap the benefits of AI as it continues to develop".

"At the same time, we are moving further and faster to put the power of this technology to work for good across government and society," she added.

Donelan said the investment will guarantee the UK "has the top global expertise, and fosters the next generation of researchers needed to seize the transformational benefits of this technology".

The announcement included the naming of 12 centers for doctoral training in AI, which will be developed with 117 million pounds of funding that had already been announced.

The UK will also update its visa program, to make sure AI experts from around the world can move to the country to continue their work.

The announcement followed an earlier statement that the UK will invest 8.1 million pounds on creating postgraduate course scholarships in AI and data science.

In addition to government officials, many notable figures from the field of AI attended the summit, including Elon Musk, CEO of X, formerly Twitter, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the AlphaGo AI program.

Appearing on a podcast run by comedian Joe Rogan on Tuesday, Musk said AI could, if programmed by environmentalists, decide humans are a problem in need of eradication.

"If you start thinking that humans are bad, then the natural conclusion is humans should die out," he said. "If AI gets programmed by the extinctionists, its utility function will be the extinction of humanity … they won't even think it's bad."