King Charles is stepping into the AI debate. He’s set to meet bosses from Nvidia, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and OpenAI in Scotland. His question for them is simple: How do we develop AI for the good of humanity?
That’s according to a report in The Sunday Times. A royal source says the King wants to “convene, listen and encourage” the conversation. He’s done this before on issues like the environment and water scarcity, now AI is getting a Royal grilling.
The source added that Charles hopes the talks lead to a “wider understanding” of the responsibilities that come with building this technology, not just the opportunities.
He’s reportedly keen to explore whether a shared set of principles could help. They added, “His feeling is it is not an easy thing to do, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”
Honestly, I think this is good. Someone needs to ask these awkward questions, and a monarch with no stake in the AI race is about as neutral a convener as you’ll find.
Attendees are said to include Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Google DeepMind’s Sir Demis Hassabis, and IonQ’s Niccolo de Masi. Paolo Benanti, the Pope’s adviser on AI ethics, is also expected to be there.
The event is being run by the Ditchley Foundation, which has drawn up a draft charter for AI leaders to consider.
That charter reportedly pushes for AI to be treated as more than just a tool for capability and efficiency. It’s meant to uphold human dignity too, and support both people and the planet.
This all comes hot on the heels of a pretty striking essay from Anthropic’s Dario Amodei. He’s called on the AI industry to “slow down” and let safety measures catch up.
In the essay, titled We Must Pace the Frontier, Amodei says AI has been advancing drastically faster since this summer. His worry is that within six to twelve months, AI could be capable of leading a swarm that takes over the entire internet.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman have both backed the call to slow down as well, which is interesting, to say the least, given how competitive this space usually is.
Anthropic has previously said it’s blocked bad actors trying to use its models for cyber attacks, surveillance, and research linked to biological weapons.
In July, OpenAI said its own AI system hacked into another company entirely on its own, which sounds like a science fiction film, but, unfortunately, isn’t.
We’ve touched on this AI safety debate multiple times before, and it’s not going away any time soon. If anything, meetings like this one suggest it’s only going to get more prominent, and stretch further into popular culture than Silicon Valley.
No date has been confirmed yet for when the King’s meeting will take place, and Buckingham Palace has not commented on the report.
Liked this? Is AI about to kill us all? The answer might surprise you – but, well, probably won’t
Read the full article here
