LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is meeting Thursday with senior leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Nvidia to discuss artificial intelligence and make a plea to ensure the technology remains in the service of people and the planet.
The gathering in Scotland, which includes Britain’s AI Minister Kanishka Narayan, was convened to discuss how AI can be deployed in ways that benefit society.
The king is expected to say in opening remarks that the rapid advance of AI is “intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure.”
“Those in our world who value our humanity and its vital moral component are anxiously seeking your reassurance that we will not lose control of our destiny,” he will say, according to excerpts released in advance.
He’ll tell the tech execs that “the task before you is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world.”
The meeting comes as global attention focuses on AI’s breakneck progress and warnings that it could race out of control, threatening humanity.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI will be represented by Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, and representatives of firms including Nvidia, Google DeepMind and Anthropic are expected to attend the gathering at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, headquarters of The King’s Foundation, the monarch’s charity.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in an essay Saturday that the industry might need to slow the pace of its work, cautioning that AI agents could take over the internet unless companies devoted more time to putting safeguards in place.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman followed up by saying on social media that “AI progress could go very badly” and that slowing it down is “well worth the cost.”
Their posts came after an Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, caused a stir by announcing his resignation with a warning not to underestimate AI and that Anthropic and OpenAI were gambling with human life.
In the latest report of alarming AI behavior, OpenAI reported on Wednesday six incidents of “unexpected or concerning” behavior by its models, including disregarding normal constraints, uploading a file without asking the user and fabricating data.
The king’s AI talks aim to “advance thinking” on principles that industry leaders, experts and broader society could champion, the palace said.
On Tuesday, a senior British official said the government has a “solemn duty” to mitigate the risks posed by AI.
“We must heed the warnings of those who are at the forefront of developing this technology,” said First Secretary Louise Haigh, who is the de facto deputy prime minister. “There are clearly huge risks to our national security and society if the right guardrails are not put in place.”
The U.K. government is ready to work with international partners to ensure public safety and national security, she added.
While the king is an important figurehead whose comments on social issues can be influential, much of the current AI safety debate is centered on U.S. tech companies and their competition with Chinese rivals, with Britain playing a smaller but still vital role.
The U.K.’s AI Security Institute, a government research organization, is well regarded and the country produces many AI researchers, including Google DeepMind’s Chair Demis Hassabis and Anthropic’s Coxon.
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