No 10 acknowledges 'existential' risk of AI for first time

The "existential" risk of artificial intelligence has been acknowledged by No 10 for the first time, after the prime minister met the heads of the world's leading AI research groups to discuss safety and regulation. Rishi Sunak and Chloe Smith, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, met the chief executives of Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic AI on Wednesday evening and discussed how best to moderate the development of the technology to limit the risks of catastrophe. "They discussed safety measures, voluntary actions that labs are considering to manage the risks, and the possible avenues for international collaboration on AI safety and regulation," the participants said in a joint statement. "The lab leaders agreed to work with the UK government to ensure our approach responds to the speed of innovations in this technology both in the UK and around the globe. "The PM and CEOs discussed the risks of the technology, ranging from disinformation and national security, to existential threats … The PM set out how the approach to AI regulation will need to keep pace with the fast-moving advances in this technology." It is the first time the prime minister has acknowledged the potential "existential" threat of developing a "superintelligent" AI without appropriate safeguards, a risk that contrasts with the UK government's generally positive approach to AI development.