Sitting in a purpose-built hut in the grounds of the historic Bletchley Park country estate, British officials believed they had pulled off a diplomatic coup. On stage in front of them was the UK's technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, and behind her were high-level representatives from the US and China, together for the first time to discuss the international regulation of artificial intelligence. Even better, both countries were among 28 signatories to the "Bletchley declaration", an agreement to work together on safety standards that may prevent AI systems turning on humanity. Rishi Sunak said on Thursday: "Some said we shouldn't even invite China; others said that we could never get an agreement with them. A serious strategy for AI safety has to begin with engaging all the world's leading AI powers, and all of them have signed the Bletchley Park communique."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is pushing for nations to label artificial intelligence as capable of "catastrophic harm" at the AI Safety Summit the U.K. is hosting next month as it seeks to forge a common international approach on the rapidly advancing technology. Britain wants countries to sign up to a joint position that outlines particular concerns for AI's impact on cybersecurity and biotechnology, according to a draft communique circulated to attendees and seen by Bloomberg. Officials aim to hammer out final wording of the communique by Oct. 25, a separate document showed. "There is potential for significant, even catastrophic, harm, either deliberate or unintentional, stemming from the most dangerous capabilities of these AI models," according to the draft, dated Oct. 16.

Rishi Sunak's advisers are trying to thrash out an agreement among world leaders on a statement warning about the risks of artificial intelligence as they finalise the agenda for the AI safety summit next month. Downing Street officials have been touring the world talking to their counterparts from China to the EU and the US as they work to agree on words to be used in a communique at the two-day conference. But they are unlikely to agree a new international organisation to scrutinise cutting-edge AI, despite interest from the UK in giving the government's AI taskforce a global role. Sunak's AI summit will produce a communique on the risks of AI models, provide an update on White House-brokered safety guidelines and end with "like-minded" countries debating how national security agencies can scrutinise the most dangerous versions of the technology. The possibility of some form of international cooperation on cutting-edge AI that can pose a threat to human life will also be discussed on the final day of the summit on 1 and 2 November at Bletchley Park, according to a draft agenda seen by the Guardian.

Brussels – NATO leaders warned Monday that China's military ambitions pose "systemic challenges" to their alliance, and agreed to enhance ties with Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations to back the rules-based international order. The tough line against Beijing, taken in a communique released after the NATO summit, came as U.S. President Joe Biden rallies allies to counter what he calls autocracies like China and Russia that are challenging an open international order. "China's stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security," said the communique from the 30-member organization that brings together North American and European countries. The leaders also expressed concerns over what they called China's coercive policies, while pointing out the country's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal and criticizing the opaqueness of its military modernization. The communique, meanwhile, named Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea as countries with which NATO plans to strengthen its "political dialogue and practical cooperation" in a bid to promote cooperative security and support the rules-based international order.

An annual series of events (first started by Ontolog and NIST in 2006) that involves the ontology community along with communities related to each year's theme chosen for the summit. The Ontology Summit program is now co-organized by Ontolog, NIST, NCOR, NCBO, NCO_NITRD along with the co-sponsorship of other organizations that are supportive of the Summit goals and objectives. Format: each year's Summit comprises of a series of both virtual and face-to-face events that span about 3 months. These include a vigorous three-month online discourse on the theme of choice (for a particular summit), virtual panel discussions, research activities ... etc. which will culminate in a two-day face-to-face workshop and symposium. The publication of a Summit Communiqué each year, at the end of the face-to-face symposium, to get an annual message from the participants to the world-at-large, has also been a signature activity of this Ontology Summit series.

The government's peak advisory body on tech and science has turned its attention to the development of an artificial intelligence ethics framework and lifelong learning of STEM skills. The National Science and Technology Council met for the third time in Brisbane last week, after it was launched to replace the Commonwealth Science Council in February this year. The meeting was chaired by Industry Minister Karen Andrews, with education minister Dan Tehan also in attendance. Council members include Professor Genevieve Bell, Professor Barbara Howlett, Professor Debra Henly and Professor Brian Schmidt. They were briefed on the government's progress in developing a national artificial intelligence ethics framework, and the "strong engagement" from stakeholders during consultation.

Lagos – Educationists, researchers and others have said that Nigeria must include relevant skills acquisition in its education curricula to remain relevant in the comity of nations. They made their views known in a communique they issued at the end of a three-day University of Lagos International Research Conference and Fair. The International Conference of the Humanities and Science which began on Wednesday had the theme: "Automation and Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities for 21st Research and Development''. The communique was signed by the Director, Academic Planning of the institution, Prof. Obinna Chukwu. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference – the 14th edition – was attended by more than 400 scholars, captains of industries and others from within and outside Nigeria. A total number of 168 oral paper presentations and 49 poster presentations were made the conference which had Air Peace and Access Bank as major sponsors. The participants observed that many countries suffered from significant skill mismatch due to inability of the education system to accurately reflect the demands of the labour market. The participants noted that technology, specifically, artificial intelligence, was rapidly changing trends and perceptions in different facets of life including education, employment, economy, communication and healthcare. They added that artificial intelligence would aid resource utilisation and development of smart cities. They urged that researches in the academia that cut across disciplines should be carrief out in partnership with industries to build required competencies. They also recommended that organisations in emerging markets should make investments in automation to bridge the gap between them and their counterparts in developed markets. "Higher education should help students compete in artificial intelligence age by including it in the curriculum.

DINARD, FRANCE - Foreign ministers of Group of Seven nations on Saturday pushed North Korea to continue denuclearization negotiations with the United States while vowing to maintain pressure on Pyongyang to encourage it to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. In a communique issued after a two-day meeting in Dinard, western France, the ministers also expressed serious concern about the situation in the East and South China seas -- a veiled criticism of China's militarization of outposts in disputed areas of the South China Sea and its attempts to undermine Japan's control of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The Senkakus are administered by Japan, but claimed by China and Taiwa, which call them the Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively. During the meeting, some G7 members touched on China's expanding global ambitions through its signature Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project, a Japanese official said. But the communique makes no reference to the initiative in an apparent effort to demonstrate unity among the group.