The most advanced technology companies will allow governments to vet their artificial intelligence tools for the first time, Rishi Sunak has announced, as Elon Musk warned the technology could eventually replace all human jobs.
Companies including Meta, Google DeepMind and OpenAI have agreed to allow regulators to test their latest AI products before releasing them to the public, in a move that officials say will slow the race to develop systems that can compete with humans.
Sunak made the announcement on Thursday after a two-day summit at Bletchley Park at which a diverse group including the world’s richest man, the vice-president of the US and a senior Chinese government official agreed that AI poses a grave risk to humanity.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the summit, Sunak said: “I believe the achievements of this summit will tip the balance in favour of humanity.”
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The prime minister also announced international support for an expert body inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to be chaired by one of the “godfathers” of modern AI.
The moves were welcomed afterwards by the technology billionaire Elon Musk in a conversation between the pair in central London, during which Musk described what he sees as a dramatically different future for humanity.
Rishi Sunak spoke to Elon Musk at an event in central London on Thursday Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
“We are seeing the most disruptive force in history here,” he said. “There will come a point where no job is needed. You can have a job if you want a job … but the AI will be able to do everything.”
Musk said he thought the summit had achieved a meaningful shift in the development of advanced AI. “Simply having an insight and being able to highlight concerns to the public will be very powerful,” he said.
Speaking at the close of the summit, Sunak said agreements reached with multiple countries and AI companies had significantly reduced the threat posed by the technology.
However, he was forced to defend the voluntary nature of the testing agreement, with his government declining to introduce legislation to rein in AI development.
Explaining that the UK had to move faster than a legislative timetable would allow, he said: “Technology is developing at such a pace that governments have to make sure that we can keep up.”
He said that ultimately “binding requirements” would probably be necessary for AI firms.
Under the agreement announced at Bletchley Park, “like-minded” governments and AI companies have agreed to work together on testing the safety of new AI models before and after they are released.
Large language models, which underpin tools like the ChatGPT chatbot, will be tested in collaboration with governments against a range of dangers including national security, safety and societal harms.
The move follows the issuance of an executive order by the White…
2023-11-03 02:16:42
Link from www.theguardian.com
