UK AI summit is a 'photo opportunity' not an open debate, critics say

The UK government's AI Safety Summit, which claims to be "bringing together the world to discuss frontier AI", has come under fire for a lack of diverse perspectives among its delegates, with critics dismissing it as little more than a photo opportunity. Prime minister Rishi Sunak is hosting a group of 100 representatives from business, politics and academia at Bletchley Park on 1 and 2 November to discuss the risks of so-called "frontier" AI models – defined as "highly capable general-purpose AI models that can perform a wide variety of tasks and match or exceed the capabilities present in today's most advanced models". But the government has not publicly revealed the list of delegates, and campaigners have criticised the narrow range of voices in attendance. Mark Lee at the University of Birmingham says the summit is a stage-managed "photo opportunity" rather than a chance for open discourse, and that it is focusing on the wrong problems. "We need an open debate," he says.