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

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2023

admin

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.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

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

UK joins US in strike on Houthi target in Yemen for first time since Donald Trump re-elected

Published

3 hours ago

May 1, 2025

admin

UK joins US in strike on Houthi target in Yemen for first time since Donald Trump re-elected

The UK has joined US forces in attacking a Houthi target in Yemen for the first time since Donald Trump was re-elected.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the strikes took place on Tuesday as part of the government’s response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The ministry said careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture the sort of drones used to attack ships, located 15 miles south of the capital Sanaa.

RAF Typhoon FGR4s conducted strikes on several buildings using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.

The planes had air refuelling support from Voyager tankers.

The ministry said the strike was conducted after dark to reduce the likelihood of civilians being in the area.

All the aircraft returned safely.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This government will always act in the interests of our national and economic security.

“Royal Air Force Typhoons have successfully conducted strikes against a Houthi military target in Yemen and all UK aircraft and personnel have returned safely to base.

“We conducted these strikes, supported by the US, to degrade Houthi capabilities and prevent further attacks against UK and international shipping.”

Houthis a ‘persistent threat’ to ‘freedom of navigation’

Mr Healey said Houthi activities in the Red Sea are a “persistent threat” to “freedom of navigation”.

“A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK,” he said.

“The government is steadfast in our commitment to reinforcing global stability and protecting British working people. I am proud of the dedication and professionalism shown by the service men and women involved in this operation.”

US intensifies strikes on Houthis

It was the first time UK forces have struck a target in Yemen since May last year, the ministry confirmed.

The US has intensified its strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis under Mr Trump’s presidency, after his re-election in November 2024.

The group began launching attacks on shipping routes in November 2023 saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

The strike came after a Houthi-controlled TV channel claimed a US strike killed 68 people at a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen on Monday.

Politics

The mayoral election results in full

Published

3 hours ago

May 1, 2025

admin

Six mayors are being elected in England, with most of the mayoralties last contested in 2021.

These include four combined authority mayors , otherwise known as metro mayors, as well as two city mayors.

Two of the mayors will take up new positions in the Hull and East Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire combined authorities. The other mayoralties were all last contested in 2021.

Metro mayors

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Greater Lincolnshire
• Hull and East Yorkshire
• West of England

City mayors

• Doncaster
• North Tyneside

Polls closed on Thursday night. Greater Lincolnshire, West of England, and Doncaster are counting results overnight while the other areas will report results on Friday.

The map below shows which mayoral candidates have won in their area by political party.

All of these mayoralties will be elected under a first-past-the-post electoral system, which is also used for Westminster parliamentary elections.

See below for more detailed breakdowns of results for each race.

Metro mayors

There are four metro mayors being elected in combined authorities. These mayors are elected by voters from several different areas and counting will take place at local council level. Tables will be updated as each local area reports its result.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

First established in 2017, the combined authority covers six areas. These are Peterborough, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, and Cambridge local council areas.

Labour won the mayoralty from the Conservatives when it was last contested in 2021.

Greater Lincolnshire

This is a new mayoralty, being elected for the first time in 2025.

The combined authority covers nine areas. These are North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Boston, Lincoln, East Lindsey, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Kesteven, and South Holland local council areas.

Hull and East Yorkshire

This is a new mayoralty, being elected for the first time in 2025.

The combined authority area covers both Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire local council areas.

West of England

The combined authority covers three areas: Bristol City, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset local council areas. The authority was established in 2017.

Labour won the mayoralty from the Conservatives when it was last contested in 2021.

City mayors

There are two city mayors being elected, one for Doncaster and one for North Tyneside.

Labour’s Ros Jones has been the Mayor of Doncaster since 2013, and is running for re-election this year.

The mayor of North Tyneside has been held by Labour since 2013, though incumbent Nora Redfearn is not standing for re-election this year.

Politics

Tether CEO defends decision to skip MiCA registration for USDT

Published

5 hours ago

May 1, 2025

admin

Tether CEO defends decision to skip MiCA registration for USDT

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether, addressed criticism over the company’s decision not to seek registration under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, arguing that the regulations were risky for stablecoins.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Token2049 conference in Dubai, Ardoino reiterated that Tether had no plans to apply for its US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDt — the largest by market capitalization — to be compliant under MiCA in European countries, potentially forcing exchanges to delist the stablecoin. He added that though crypto firms had to follow regulations, there was a “fear of compliance” among companies in the EU.

“[…] MiCA license is very dangerous when it comes to stablecoins, and I believe that is even more dangerous for the small, medium banking system in Europe,” said the Tether CEO, adding that banks in the region could “go belly up” in the next few years thanks to MiCA’s requirements, such as keeping 60% of stablecoins reserves in insured cash deposits in European banks. Ardoino added:

“I decided to not apply to the MiCA license because I need to protect the 400 million+ users that we have around the world. They are not as lucky as Europeans. I love Europe, but I think that unfortunately European Central Bank is more interested [in pushing] the digital euro as a way to control people and control how they spend their money.”

After years of planning and research, EU officials began to implement requirements under MiCA in December 2024. Tether, which is regulated and headquartered in El Salvador, is required to comply with MiCA regulatory requirements if offering products or services in EU member states.

Since the regulations went into effect, many crypto exchanges acted to ensure their platforms listed MiCA-compliant tokens. Kraken delisted 5 stablecoins, including USDt, and Crypto.com announced plans to delist 10 stablecoins as of January.

On nations establishing crypto reserves

Speaking on its intentions for operating in the United States, Ardoino said the country “would require a different type of product,” given the competition with local stablecoin issuers. He added that the US’s and other countries’ efforts to establish a Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile were “just inevitable.”

“In the medium to long term, the more Bitcoin education, the more companies will set the example […] then everyone else will follow,” said the Tether CEO. “It’s never too late to buy Bitcoin.”

Ardoino’s statements came the same day that Tether announced roughly $120 billion in exposure to US Treasurys as of the first quarter of 2025. As of May 1, USDt had a market capitalization of roughly $149 billion.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight