Elon Musk and ChatGPT boss jet in for UK’s AI summit – as Sunak warned of ‘here and now’ threats

Published

11 months ago

November 1, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has been warned not to ignore the “here and now” threats to people’s jobs posed by artificial intelligence, as Elon Musk and the creator of ChatGPT jet in for a landmark UK summit.

Bletchley Park is set to welcome more than 100 figures from politics and business from today, including the likes of OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, and billionaire Musk.

US vice president Kamala Harris, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and controversially, a Chinese tech minister are also attending; though Canada’s Justin Trudeau, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Olaf Scholz are not.

The two-day event, held at the home of Britain’s Second World War codebreakers, is the first global summit on AI safety and the prime minister hopes it will help shape its development.

Reports suggest he will use discussions at the summit as the basis for a global advisory board for AI regulation, modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

But following a speech last week, in which he spoke of dystopian threats like terrorists developing bioweapons and humanity losing control of AI, Mr Sunak has been warned not to ignore more present dangers.

Mary Towers, employment rights officer at the TUC, told Sky News: “We are not saying the government should not address hypothetical future risks – but it should not be done at the expense of dealing with existing harms.”

PM ‘squeezing out’ marginalised voices

The TUC union was one of dozens of experts and organisations to sign a letter to Mr Sunak this week, accusing him of having “marginalised” those most at risk of being impacted by AI.

It said small businesses and creatives, who have been among the most vocal in their concerns about AI, felt “squeezed out” and “smothered” by the power and influence of big tech firms.

Ms Towers accused the prime minister of assembling a “narrow interest group” for the summit, which will also host executives from tech giants like Meta and Tencent.

In an open letter coordinated by the TUC, more than 100 organisations branded the AI summit “a missed opportunity”, saying: “For many millions of people in the UK and across the world, the risks and harms of AI are not distant – they are felt in the here and now.”

The guest list certainly reflects Mr Sunak’s enthusiasm for AI, and he will join Mr Musk for a live discussion on X (formerly Twitter) after the event.

Regulation ‘desperately needed’

Ahead of the summit, the prime minister announced a £100m investment in AI tools to research new cancer and dementia treatments – answering calls from surgeons who believe the NHS must embrace the technology.

The government also committed £2m to helping schools adopt AI, such as to help teachers plan lessons.

And earlier this week, The Telegraph reported the government is testing a ChatGPT-style chatbot that can answer people’s questions about benefits, housing, and taxes.

But one in three Britons fear the tech could take their jobs, according to data released this week.

PM’s AI summit looks like a significant meeting

Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@aTomClarke

Some people thought the PM’s AI summit would be a flop.

The venue, Bletchley Park has pedigree. It was home to the first electronic computer and the war-time code-breakers that pioneered AI.

But recent political and economic chaos combined with the regulatory irrelevance of a UK outside of the EU, so the thinking went, would make it unlikely Mr Sunak could really attract serious players in the development and regulation of AI.

Sure, a few big names are absent. But the US vice-president will be there, so will Meta’s AI chief. The government also resisted criticism to ensure the Chinese state is represented, along with the EU.

This now looks increasingly like a significant meeting on serious global issue.

The anticipated arrival of the world’s richest man and controversial tech titan Elon Musk adds a hefty dose of Silicon Valley stardust.

But none of this guarantees success. In fact, no one agrees on what success might look like.

Most global conferences are defined by trying to find consensus among disparate political or commercial views around a specific goal – take the decades long effort tackle global warming for example.

In the case of AI, all parties want to prevent a machine intelligence more capable than humans running out of control. It’s just no one really agrees on what that AI looks like or how to go about preventing it.

Expect to hear baffling statements around “responsible scaling”, “red-teaming”, “guardrails” and the need to control AI without hobbling it’s potential to benefit humanity.

Real progress would be some kind of plan to control, contain, or perhaps even prevent the development of increasingly powerful and unpredictable AI models. But with just two days to talk it over, few expect the delegates to achieve that – even with the ghosts of Bletchley Park peering over their shoulders.

Administrative, customer service, and secretarial workers are most worried, the Office for National Statistics said.

Ms Towers said legislation was “desperately needed” to address redundancy concerns, and force employers to be transparent with workers about how they plan to use AI.

Bodies including the Publisher’s Association and Society of Authors have also called on Mr Sunak to take a tougher stance against AIs being trained on copyrighted material, echoing concerns of other creative industries.

But Mr Sunak has expressed caution about regulation, saying it would stifle innovation.

Rather than suggest bespoke new laws, the government has said it will lean on existing regulators to enforce principles around safety and transparency.

Other countries are going further, with US President Joe Biden announcing guardrails to address issues from job security and discrimination to deep fakes and misinformation.

The EU and China have also unveiled their own proposed AI regulation.

Kriti Sharma, founder of AI For Good UK, told Sky News businesses needed to know they can trust AI, and called for regulation that ensures new models are trained using trusted data sources.

Research by consultancy firm Infinum reveals more than three-quarters of British firms plan to invest in AI over the next year, but 73% admit to being ill-prepared to actually integrate it into their operations.

Ms Sharma said the government must ensure nobody is left behind.

“We need to strongly champion the need to create a basic AI education for everyone,” she said.

“New opportunities will come up, and I’d love the UK to be at the forefront of creating an AI-ready workforce.”

The summit is set to close on Thursday with Mr Sunak giving a speech outlining what attendees have agreed on.

His discussion with Mr Musk on X will take place afterwards.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed ‘carried Viagra’ and ‘cherry picked’ women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

Published

12 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed 'carried Viagra' and 'cherry picked' women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

A former member of the Harrods management team has told how Mohamed al Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor.

Speaking to Sky News anonymously, the woman described the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, as “demonic” and said he “controlled everything with fear”.

Lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Fayed branded him a “monster” who was “enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” at a news conference on Friday.

The former employee of the luxury department store, which the Egyptian businessman took control of in 1985, worked at Harrods at the height of his power.

“We were all told Harrods is the greatest place on Earth – but he controlled everything with fear,” she said.

“The power dynamic was so strong, in the blink of an eye you would lose your career and they would try and destroy you. It was this dark psychological trap and everybody was caught.”

She said she heard stories Fayed, known to staff as “the chairman”, would grope people although she was never a victim herself.

“The chairman would walk around the store and he would cherry pick people from the shop floor, if you had blond hair and brown eyes you were favoured,” she said.

“He used to say, ‘I want that one up in my office now’. He used to carry Viagra around in his pocket, and people were so scared of his ‘floor walks’ – if you weren’t smiling enough you were in the shit, if you smiled too much you were also in the shit.”

The ex-employee, who worked at Harrods in her first job after leaving university, said when women were called to Fayed’s office they “couldn’t say no”.

“I would sit her down and I would say I need to let you know what you are walking into,” she said.

“It’s suddenly a pay rise, and you’ll be invited to expensive events and lavished with expensive gifts but really you need to be aware of something.

“I said you will get invited to Park Lane, and parties where there will be lots of rich men, and you would be invited to sleep with people.”

She said she was once asked to see Fayed in his lounge-like office where he was wearing his slippers and said: “When are you going to come up and work for me here?”

The woman said she told him she did not want to work there and went back to her normal job.

“Afterwards he would smile at me and was courteous but then I started getting extra money in my pay packet. I went to the pay office and they said it’s a bonus for what you are doing. It didn’t last long but it happened just after he’d asked to meet him.”

The woman said she now feels “really conflicted” as she was “vulnerable too”.

“It was my first job leaving university. It leaves me feeling angry that we put up with things in that generation, that was our norm,” she added.

Harrods has said in a statement it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.

The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.

UK

Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

Published

12 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary.

Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare.

But after “extensive searches”, the force said a body had been found in the Jesmond Dene area of the city. Although formal identification has yet to take place, “it is believed to be Katherine”, they added.

“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specially-trained officers,” it said.

“This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time. We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.”

Also known as Reverend Captain Katie Watson, she joined the army in her late teens, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and as part of the Royal Military Police.

“Once you have seen genocide first-hand on the streets of a European country, there is nothing left in the world that can faze you after that,” she told the Church Times in 2022, as the Geordie Hospital documentary was first aired on Channel 4.

“I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”

Ms Watson worked at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for more than 16 years and was made head of chaplaincy in 2020.

Channel 4’s documentary Geordie Hospital was a six-part series that filmed hospital staff through a shift, featuring a cast including porters, surgeons, dental nurses and chaplains.

Speaking about her role in the show, Ms Watson said: “We only have two things to offer, the gifts of time and presence, but we give them whole-heartedly.”

There was an outpouring of support online for Ms Watson following the news she was missing.

“She baptised our baby boy when he passed away at birth and presided over his funeral,” one person wrote on X. “She’s such a wonderful person who gave us unwavering support through our darkest hours.”

Another said: “The compassion and care you gave me and my family when our mum passed last year was a tremendous blessing and support.”

UK

Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Published

14 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, Sky News understands.

Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also announced they would take the same approach moving forward.

The decision by the prime minister, chancellor and deputy prime minister follows scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer and his wife for accepting donations.

The prime minister has accepted work clothing donations worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses, to the value of £2,485.

According to the MP register of interests, Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations too, to the value of £2,230.

Sky News understands that in June, the deputy prime minister also received a donation by Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, of £3,550.

The donation was registered but its nature, now understood to be work clothing, was not published.

Sky News understands that since the backlash over the freebies, the registrar was contacted to ensure the donation was published with all the necessary details.

The chancellor has not accepted any such donations, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

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It’s a strategic move from the newbie government

The amount of political chatter over freebies and hospitality for the Prime Minister was starting to look both indulgent and frivolous and it appears as if Number 10 have finally had enough.

I was told Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, and neither will Rachel Reeves or Angela Rayner in an apparent attempt to stop this story spiraling through this week and into the Labour conference this weekend.

It’s a strategic move from the newbie government, who had let the story run on perhaps longer than even colleagues in their own party had wanted.

Baroness Harriet Harman spoke out about number 10 trying to justify these free gifts, stating it was just making things worse.

Ministers had also been defending the Prime Minister’s decision to accept donations for days – the latest was Jess Philips, saying accepting Arsenal season tickets was ‘not important.’

Seven hours later though, it appears they’ve decided some of it is important – and have declared a commitment to not accept any more clothing in the future.

Questions still remain over the other hospitality gifts and it’s not entirely clear yet whether this will stem the bleed of bad news before conference weekend, or whether this tacit admittance of a misstep opens another can of worms.

Sky News revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP as his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.

This had all been declared as per the rules but backbench MPs had been expressing concern that the government’s rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy jars with the image of a prime minister accepting freebies.

The row started over the weekend with controversy over Sir Keir’s wife’s clothes.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said earlier today she is “satisfied” with the prime minister’s explanation of why he has taken the freebies.

She said if he “wasn’t doing a good job in our country” then she “would be more concerned”.

Ms Phillips went on to say it’s not that she doesn’t think it’s important, but added: “I haven’t had a single email about it.

“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list.”

Challenged on the fact that it looks bad having just taken away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Ms Phillips said these are “completely separate things”.

“And had he never been to watch the Arsenal, there would still be a £22bn black hole that had to be paid for,” she added.

She said: “All I can say is I’m absolutely knackered trying to make things better.”

What has the PM said in response to criticism?

Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.

“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.”

On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”