This major event will call on governments to address the risks of artificial intelligence.

The government of the United Kingdom has invited representatives of governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups as well as notorious researchers to rally for the AI Safety Summit 2023 on the 1-2 November at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. 

Bletchley Park is the site where mathematician Alan Turing cracked Nazi Germany's Enigma code during the Second World War.

Frontier AI models hold enormous potential to power economic growth, drive scientific progress and wider public benefits, while also posing potential safety risks if not developed responsibly, the government said in a press release.

The summit will consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development, and will discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on 26 October.

The event will focus on five objectives, which are:

• a shared understanding of the risks posed by frontier AI and the need for action;
• a forward process for international collaboration on frontier AI safety, including how best to support national and international frameworks;
• appropriate measures which individual organizations should take to increase frontier AI safety;
• areas for potential collaboration on AI safety research, including evaluating model capabilities and the development of new standards to support governance;
• showcase how ensuring the safe development of AI will enable AI to be used for good globally.

There will be a series of roundtable discussions between governments, tech companies and academics to engage participants in opening up their minds.

This gathering has been a self-inviting event for a long time and is preceded by numerous calls from scientists, entrepreneurs, officials, and creators to halt all major AI projects until the governments deliver regulations for the industry.

AI employment in disinformation wars, advanced weapon systems, and financial crimes is capable of destabilizing nations and entire regions, and the UK wants to hear from international actors and experts how to prevent the misuse of AI. Primarily, according to the Sky News, it wants to be able to deal with criminals plotting biological or cyber attacks with the use of dangerous technologies – a narrow goal compared to the huge risks AI poses at global scale.

Unanswered questions

The summit itself is a welcome event, but many details are missing.

For one, it is not clear whether there’ll be discussion about AI taking over jobs from human employees – something that is already happening – and what needs to be done to secure people’s livelihoods.

The British authorities emphasize the importance of this summit but has not yet published a list of participants or invitees. Media speculates that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has turned down the invitation and other leaders followed the suit.

On the other hand, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and US Vice-President Kamala Harris have confirmed their presence.

China, which is a major player in AI development, was asked to send its representatives too.

It is unlikely that the summit will conclude with any agreements or binding resolutions, given the fact that it’s planned as a platform for conversations on how nations can work together.

The summit’s website does not offer clarifications over these issues. 

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