In the weeks leading up to the UK's AI Safety Summit, held on 1 and 2 November, prime minister Rishi Sunak repeatedly stressed the potential risks that artificial intelligence could pose to society. Then, on the second morning of the event, he told reporters that people must avoid "alarmist" claims – just before warning that AI could be as dangerous as nuclear war. It is safe to say there were mixed messages. But the summit was, of course, intended to disperse this fog of confusion: to examine the risks of AI, provide space for representatives of nations around the world to talk with business leaders and technology experts, and ultimately plan for a future that avoids disastrous pitfalls. The main takeaway was the new Bletchley Declaration, signed by 28 nations, including China and the US, and the European Union.

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.

Gary Marcus: Two Models of AI Oversight -- and How Things Could Go Deeply Wrong https://bit.ly/3Qnxd9A June 12, 2023 Originally published on The Road to AI We Can Trust (http://bit.ly/3juuD3j) The Senate hearing that I participated in a few weeks ago (https://bit.ly/44QxHt1) I was thrilled by what I saw of the Senate that day: genuine interest and genuine humility. Senators acknowledged that they were too slow to figure out what do about social media, that the moves were made then, and that there was now a sense of urgency.