UK PM Sunak hails landmark Bletchley Declaration to tackle risks from AI

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is leading the talks on Thursday at the AI Safety Summit convened by the UK, hailed the Bletchley Declaration as a landmark agreement between 28 countries, including India, on the shared responsibility to address the risks associated with artificial intelligence.

In the lead up to the two-day AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, Sunak had already announced the world's first AI Safety Institute to be set up in Britain to examine, evaluate, and test new types of AI to inform national and international policymaking.

The summit is aimed at focussing on international priorities for artificial intelligence.

Besides his discussions with government representatives from around the world on day two of the summit, Sunak will also hear from companies at the forefront of AI, academia and civil society, focused on the concrete action needed to ensure AI safety. Those attending include major AI business leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Microsoft and Meta. Tech billionaire and X chief Elon Musk is scheduled for a special one-on-one session with Sunak.

I believe there will be nothing more transformative to the futures of our children and grandchildren than technological advances like AI. We owe it to them to ensure AI develops in a safe and responsible way, gripping the risks it poses early enough in the process, said Sunak.

The first-ever global AI Safety Summit led by the UK has already seen major AI powers sign up to the landmark Bletchley Declaration, agreeing on the shared responsibility to address the risks and urgently work together on frontier AI safety and research. The UK has led the way in this global conversation on AI safety, but no one country can tackle the risks alone, he said.

The Bletchley Declaration on AI safety clinched on Wednesday sees 28 countries from across the globe including in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as the European Union (EU), agreeing to the urgent need to understand and collectively manage potential risks through a new joint global effort to ensure AI is developed and deployed in a safe, responsible way for the benefit of the global community.

India, represented by Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, was among the 28 countries to endorse the agreement.

We certainly want AI and the broader internet and tech to represent goodness, safety and trust. And, underpinning all of that, platforms and innovators that demonstrate accountability under law to all those who use it, said Chandrasekhar in his address at the summit.

On day one, the countries agreed substantial risks may arise from potential intentional misuse or unintended issues of control of frontier AI, with particular concern caused by cybersecurity, biotechnology and misinformation risks.

The emerging Declaration sets out an agreement that there is potential for serious, even catastrophic, harm, either deliberate or unintentional, stemming from the most significant capabilities of these AI models. Countries also noted the risks beyond frontier AI, including bias and privacy.