Rishi Sunak meets tech bosses over ‘existential’ artificial intelligence risks

Rishi Sunak has met leaders of the tech industry to discuss the “existential threats” artificial intelligence could pose.

The prime minister met CEOs of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic today to share ideas about how to manage the technology as it grows in sophistication.

Mr Sunak praised AI as “the defining technology of our time with the potential to positively transform humanity” but addressed the risks it could pose too.

These included disinformation and national security risks, and “existential threats.”

Already, there have been cases of fake AI-generated images, AI photography mimicry, cloned music tracks and concerns that the technology could affect education.

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Some experts have even warned powerful AI systems “can’t be controlled”.

However, the meeting covered how AI safety was “an international endeavour” – as agreed at the G7 forum – and the prime minister is looking to position the UK as a leader in regulation talks.

Despite concerns surrounding AI, the technology has made strides in the scientific and medical fields, including a new test developed to potentially help doctors diagnose heart attacks more quickly and more accurately.

Mr Sunak spoke about AI’s potential to “deliver better outcomes for the British public, with emerging opportunities in a range of areas to improve public services”.