Rishi Sunak reveals ‘landmark agreement’ with AI firms to test safety of models before release

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has said the UK’s AI safety summit will “tip the balance in favour of humanity” after governments reached a “landmark agreement” with tech companies to test their models before their release.

The prime minister said while the event at Bletchley Park was “only the beginning of the conversation”, it showed there was a “will and capability to control the technology”.

Powerful AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google‘s Bard are trained on huge amounts of data to respond to prompts and make predictions.

Follow latest: UK has ‘led conversation’ to allow world access to benefits of AI

One of the concerns is a lack of transparency around the data they are trained on, and Mr Sunak has claimed government regulation won’t be possible without more openness about how they work.

“In order to regulate this technology, to make sure it is safe, we have to have the capability to understand what these models are capable of,” he told Sky’s science and technology editor Tom Clarke.

The agreement struck with AI companies to collaborate on safety testing before new models are released is a “necessary” step, he added.

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The UK and US governments will set up their own AI safety institutes to carry out such testing and share findings.

But not everyone at the summit appeared convinced by the arrangement, with Elon Musk appearing to mock the politicians who brokered the deal just hours before he holds talks with the prime minister.

“Sigh,” he posted, alongside a cartoon casting doubt on governments’ willingness to collaborate.

PM to hold one-on-one with Musk

Billionaire Musk was one of the star guests at two-day summit in Milton Keynes, which took place at the home of Britain’s Second World War codebreakers.

On day one, Musk told Sky News AI is a “risk” to humanity.

His post on X came just as the prime minister began a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

The men are due to hold talks later tonight, streamed on the SpaceX and Tesla owner’s X site.

PM: AI can ‘transform our lives’

The outspoken tycoon was one of more than 100 politicians, tech bosses, and academics at the UK’s summit to discuss challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

It resulted in the Bletchley Declaration, which saw 28 nations including the US and China agree to collaborate to research safety concerns around the world’s most capable AI models.

Mr Sunak said while the technology had the potential to “transform our lives”, impacting sectors from education to health care, it could present dangers “on a scale like pandemics and nuclear war”.

The Bletchley Declaration says any threats are “best addressed through international cooperation”, and also set out plans for more global summits next year.

But there was little sign of a concrete approach to regulation or any suggestions of a pause in AI’s development, which experts including Musk called for earlier this year.

It also did little to satisfy critics who warned Mr Sunak ahead of the summit he was too focused on hypothetical future threats, rather than present dangers like job losses and misinformation.

US VP warns not to forget ‘everyday threats’

Mr Sunak had previously announced leading AI companies had agreed to share their models with the UK, with a government safety institute launched to research them and flag any concerns.

The White House detailed similar plans this week as part of a wide set of safeguards which include AI-generated content having to be watermarked to combat deepfake content.

US vice president Kamala Harris, who attended the UK summit on Thursday, has said “everyday threats” can’t be ignored despite fears around the more far-flung dangers.

Mr Sunak has been more cautious than the US about AI safety legislation, arguing it would risk stifling innovation.

Instead, the government has tasked existing regulators like the Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom, and the Health and Safety Executive to apply key principles around safety, transparency, and accountability to AI.

Politics

Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Published

3 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Banking giant Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to list cryptocurrencies on its E*Trade investment brokerage and trading platform.

According to a May 1 Bloomberg report, the firm intends to list crypto assets on E*Trade in 2026. The plan is still in early development, and the bank is said to be exploring partnerships with established crypto firms to power the service. Internal discussions about cryptocurrency support reportedly began in late 2024.

Banking, Banks, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Morgan Stanley — *E*Trade homepage. Source:* *E*Trade*

This would not be Morgan Stanley’s first exposure to digital assets. The bank’s wealthiest clients have had access to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures for some time, with the firm’s advisers allowed to pitch Bitcoin ETFs since August 2024.

Regulatory tailwinds push crypto forward

The news follows previous reports that Morgan Stanley was considering adding cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade online brokerage platform in early January. The reports at the time cited the expectations of a friendlier crypto regulatory environment.

The move comes amid an increasingly favorable regulatory environment in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pro-crypto platform and is personally involved in several blockchain ventures.

The first 30 days of the Trump administration brought significant changes to the local crypto industry. More recently, US crypto proponents have shown optimism following the swearing-in of pro-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.

The SEC had significantly changed its stance even before Atkins took office. In late February, the agency had already paused multiple cryptocurrency enforcement cases with imminent deadlines.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

Politics

Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for $2B MGX investment in Binance

Published

4 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for B MGX investment in Binance

Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will use a stablecoin linked to US President Donald Trump’s family to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

The World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin was launched by the Trump-associated crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) in March 2025.

MGX will use the USD1 stablecoin for its $2 billion investment in the Binance exchange, according to an announcement by Eric Trump during a panel discussion at Token2049 in Dubai. Trump, the son of the president, serves as executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for $2B MGX investment in Binance — *Source:* *Cointelegraph*

MGX announced its investment in Binance on March 12, marking the first institutional investment in the exchange and one of the biggest funding deals in the entire Web3 industry.

At the time, Binance declined Cointelegraph’s request to disclose what stablecoin was used in the transaction.

This marks the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm’s first venture into the cryptocurrency space.

Banks, financial system is “a joke,” says Eric Trump

During the panel discussion, Eric Trump criticized the inefficiencies and limited operating hours of the traditional financial system:

“The US is seeing that the financial world has to progress. It’s a joke. Why do banks run nine to five, Monday to Friday, with an hour and a half of lunch break? It doesn’t make sense.”

Sending money internationally through SWIFT is slow, costly, and complex. Crypto makes banks redundant,” he added.

The average transaction time on the SWIFT payment network is 20 hours and seven minutes, according to analysis published by Statrys. However, 75% of SWIFT transactions involve one or two intermediary banks, meaning that these average 1 day and 11 hours to settle.

In contrast, a USDt (USDT) or USDC (USDC) stablecoin transaction on Ethereum will settle within two to five minutes.

“We’re at the dialogue phase of the crypto revolution right now, and the people who are going to make it big are the people who see it today, not in five years,” Eric Trump added.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

Voting under way to decide thousands of councillors and Runcorn and Helsby by-election

Published

8 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Voting under way to decide thousands of councillors and Runcorn and Helsby by-election

Voting is under way in local elections across England, as well as in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

Due to Ofcom rules, Sky News is limited on what it can report until polls close at 10pm.

The votes mark the first electoral test for the party leaders since last year’s general election.

In total, 23 of England’s 317 local authorities are holding elections, alongside the Isles of Scilly.

The make up of around 1,270 parish councils are also due to be decided.

And six metro mayors are up for election.

The West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, and North Tyneside mayoralties already have a mayor in place – while Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire are choosing a mayor for the first time.

Meanwhile, a by-election is being held in Runcorn and Helsby after previous Labour MP Mike Amesbury agreed to stand down following his conviction for punching a man in the street.

While this result is likely to come in overnight, most local election results won’t be known until Friday.

All voters in these elections must be over 18, and be registered.

Join Sky News presenter Jonathan Samuels and deputy political editor Sam Coates from midnight as the results start coming in. Lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge, political editor Beth Rigby, and data and economics editor Ed Conway will be taking over on Friday to report and explain what has happened.