India Joins Global AI Safety Initiative at Summit in the UK
Today, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology in India, has signed a groundbreaking agreement at Bletchley Park, a renowned British landmark. This agreement aims to create a mutual comprehension of the potential advantages and dangers associated with cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emphasizes the necessity for governments to collaborate in order to tackle the most crucial obstacles.
A British High Commission report outlines that India, along with 27 countries from around the world, including Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and the EU have agreed to an urgent consensus and as an international community to “collectively” manage potential risks through new joint global efforts to ensure that artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in a safe and responsible manner for the benefit of the global community.”
Some of the countries that publicly support the declaration include India, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.
The announcement came after two days of discussions between world leaders and AI luminaries during the AI Security Summit in the United Kingdom.
Participants agreed that significant risks could arise from intentional misuse or unintentional problems with AI at the border. The special opinion focused on concerns related to cyber security, biotechnology and disinformation risks. The declaration presents an agreement that there is “the potential for serious, even catastrophic, intentional or unintentional harm resulting from the most significant features of these AI models.”
Further consultations were held today with leading AI companies and experts from academia and civil society, notably Elon Musk and Sam Altman (creator of Microsoft-backed OpenAI).
These discussions are based on an understanding of cross-border AI risks and improve the security of its commercial use.
Last week, the UK announced the creation of the world’s first AI Security Institute, complementing existing international efforts including those at the G7, the OECD, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence.
Minister Chandrasekhar in X said, “The future of technology should be driven by international cooperation and not just by a few countries!”
UK Prime Minister Sunak plans to ensure that “this will ensure that the best available scientific research can be used to create an evidence base to manage risk while unlocking the benefits of the technology”.
Sunak believes the agreement is a “landmark achievement” and that “the world’s biggest AI powers agree on the urgency of understanding the risks of AI – helping to ensure the long-term future of our children and grandchildren.”
The Republic of Korea has promised to host a mini-virtual summit on artificial intelligence in the next six months. France will host the next in-person summit in a year, the British High Commission said in a statement.
A ROK statement read: “Minister Lee is pleased that Korea is hosting the mini-virtual summit. Korea is a world leader in technologies such as artificial intelligence and recognizes the importance of multilateral cooperation to ensure that artificial intelligence technologies are designed, used and managed safely.”
His Majesty King Charles III (of Great Britain) also joined virtually, noting that artificial intelligence is one of the “greatest technological leaps in the history of human endeavour”.
