UK Government urged to step up AI safety summit plans

Earlier this year, the UK announced they would host the first major global summit on AI safety in Autumn this year and Sunak spoke at London Tech Week stating that he wants the UK to be the home of global safety regulation, however other nations are stating the provisional date of “early November” for the summit is “pretty vague”.

Global leaders are coming forward to prompt the UK to offer more concrete plans as an anonymous senior European diplomat urged the UK to “step up its summit planning to ensure that substantive outcomes can be achieved”.

Sunak has made his goal for AI clear, describing the “incredible potential” AI offers, also highlighting the importance of safety while recently investing £400m of its £1bn net zero innovation fund towards 12 artificial intelligence initiatives to support the transition to green energy.

Sridhar Iyengar, Managing Director for Zoho Europe, commented: “Artificial Intelligence has the potential to be an incredibly useful business tool, offering improved efficiencies and enhanced customer journeys through the use of customer service assistants, data analysis, forecasting and more. It is exciting to see the UK government prioritise becoming the global home of AI regulation. As the first major global summit on AI approaches, businesses across the UK should ensure they are prioritising safe implementation of AI, as well as following guidance advised by government and policymakers.

“To drive the trust in the use of AI, government, industry experts and business need to collaborate to help develop the right rules, regulation and education which can accelerate adoption. Businesses can support this by taking care to implement ethical policies for staff to follow to ensure AI is used safely and risks are reduced. This collaboration can help a safe playing field to be developed and can contribute to the UK taking a leading position in the development of AI.”

Yi Ding, Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, said: “The development of Artificial Intelligence is essential to promote innovation and cement the UK as a top tech destination, however, this should not be done without safety and regulations being kept top of mind. It is encouraging to see the UK take such a prominent foot forward in the AI race and as we take a leading position in developing safe AI, businesses should follow suit.

“Innovation, R&D and educating should continue to be a focus for businesses in the UK, supporting the governments agenda of becoming both a tech superpower status and leader in AI. This emerging piece of tech offers itself as a valuable tool for tasks such as data analysis, forecasting to support strategic decision making and much more, meaning businesses should embrace its offerings, while taking caution around potential repercussions as regulations are developed. It is exciting times as we head towards the first major global AI summit, hosted in the UK, as business decision makers and tech leaders hope for clarity around how AI can be used safely.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety this autumn.

“Our preparations and discussions with international partners are already in full flow, with Matt Clifford and Jonathan Black recently appointed as the Prime Minister’s Representatives.

“Together they’ll spearhead talks and negotiations to make sure the summit results in the development of a shared approach to mitigating the risks of AI.”