First companies sign up to AI safety standards on eve of Seoul summit

The first 16 companies have signed up to the voluntary artificial intelligence safety standards introduced at the Bletchley Park summit, Rishi Sunak has said on the eve of the event's follow-up in Seoul. But the standards have faced criticism for lacking teeth, with signatories committing only to voluntarily "work toward" information sharing, "invest" in cybersecurity and "prioritise" research into societal risks. "These commitments ensure the world's leading AI companies will provide transparency and accountability on their plans to develop safe AI," Sunak said. "It sets a precedent for global standards on AI safety that will unlock the benefits of this transformative technology." Included in the 16 are Zhipu.ai, The presence of signatories from countries that have been less willing to bind national champions to safety regulation is a benefit of the lighter touch, the government says.