Prime Minister's speech at the AI Safety Summit: 2 November 2023
Prime Minister's speech at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park on 2 November 2023.
It was here at Bletchley Park where codebreakers including the British genius Alan Turing cracked the Enigma cipher鈥β�
鈥nd where we used the world鈥檚 first electronic computer.
Breakthroughs which changed the possibilities for humanity.
So there could be nowhere more fitting for the world to come together鈥�
鈥o seize the opportunities of the greatest breakthrough of our own time鈥�.聽
鈥hile giving people the peace of mind that we will keep them safe.聽
I truly believe there is nothing in our foreseeable future that will be more transformative for our economies, our societies and all our lives鈥�
鈥�.than the development of technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
But as with every wave of new technology, it also brings new fears and new dangers.聽
So no matter how difficult it may be鈥�
鈥�.it is the right and responsible long-term decision for leaders to address them.
That is why I called this Summit鈥�.
鈥nd I want to pay tribute to everyone who has joined us, and the spirit in which they have done so.聽
For the first time ever, we have brought together CEOs of world-leading AI companies鈥�.
鈥� with countries most advanced in using it鈥�.
鈥nd representatives from across academia and civil society.聽
And while this was only the beginning of the conversation,
I believe the achievements of this summit will tip the balance in favour of humanity.聽
Because they show we have both the political will and the capability to control this technology and secure its benefits for the long-term.
And we鈥檝e achieved this in four specific ways.聽
Until this week, the world did not even have a shared understanding of the risks.聽
So our first step was to have open and inclusive conversation to seek that shared understanding.
We analysed the latest available evidence on everything from social harms like bias and misinformation鈥�
鈥o the risks of misuse by bad actors鈥�
鈥hrough to the most extreme risks of even losing control of AI completely.
And yesterday, we agreed and published the first ever international statement about the nature of all those risks.
It was signed by every single nation represented at this summit covering all continents across the globe鈥β�
鈥nd including the US and China.
Some said, we shouldn鈥檛 even invite China鈥�
鈥�.others that we could never get an agreement with them.聽
Both were wrong.
A serious strategy for AI safety has to begin with engaging all the world鈥檚 leading AI powers.聽
And all of them have signed the Bletchley Park Communique.聽
Second, we must ensure that our shared understanding keeps pace with the rapid deployment and development of AI.聽
That鈥檚 why, last week I proposed a truly global expert panel to publish a State of AI Science report.
Today, at this summit, the whole international community has agreed.聽
This idea is inspired by the way the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up to reach international science consensus.聽
With the support of the UN Secretary General鈥�
鈥very country has committed to nominate experts.
And I鈥檓 delighted to announce that Turing Prize Winner and 鈥榞odfather of AI鈥� Yoshua Bengio鈥�
鈥as agreed to chair the production of the inaugural report.聽聽
Third, until now the only people testing the safety of new AI models鈥�
鈥ave been the very companies developing it.聽
That must change.
So building on the G7 Hiroshima process and the Global Partnership on AI鈥�
鈥ike-minded governments and AI companies have today reached a landmark agreement.
We will work together on testing the safety of new AI models before they are released.聽
This partnership is based around a series of principles which set out the responsibilities we share.
And it鈥檚 made possible by the decision that I have taken 鈥� along with Vice President Kamala Harris鈥�
鈥�.for the British and American governments to establish world-leading AI Safety Institutes鈥�
鈥ith the public sector capability to test the most advanced frontier models.聽
In that spirit I very much welcome the agreement of the companies here today to deepen the privileged access that the UK has to their models.
Drawing on the expertise of some of the most respected and knowledgeable AI experts in the world鈥�
鈥ur Safety Institute will work to build our evaluations process in time to assess the next generation of models before they are deployed next year.聽
Finally, fulfilling the vision we have set to keep AI safe is not the work of a single summit.聽
The UK is proud to have brought the world together and hosted the first summit.
But it requires an ongoing international process鈥�
鈥o stay ahead of the curve on the science鈥�
鈥nd see through all the collaboration we have begun today.
So we have agreed that Bletchley Park should be the first of a series of international safety summits鈥�
鈥ith both Korea and France agreeing to host further summits next year.聽
The late Sir Stephen Hawking once said that 鈥撀�
鈥淎I is likely to be the best or worst thing to happen to humanity.鈥�
If we can sustain the collaboration that we have fostered over these last two days鈥�
鈥 profoundly believe that we can make it the best.聽
Because safely harnessing this technology could eclipse anything we have ever known.
And if in time history proves that today we began to seize that prize鈥�
鈥hen we will have a written a new chapter worthy of its place in the story of Bletchley Park鈥�
鈥nd more importantly, bequeathed an extraordinary legacy of hope and opportunity for our children and the generations to come.