South Korea is set to host the second global AI safety summit on May 21-22, following Britain’s inaugural event held at Bletchley Park six months earlier.
Government officials announced in a statement on Friday that the summit will further develop the “Bletchley Declaration,” an agreement reached by several countries, including the U.S. and China, to collaborate on ensuring the safety of AI.
Context:
The release of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI in late 2022 garnered both admiration and concern. Notable figures such as former Google researcher Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “godfather of AI,” expressed more immediate apprehension about the technology’s potential threats compared to climate change. Elon Musk went as far as calling for an immediate halt in the development of such AI systems.
In November of the previous year, Britain hosted the inaugural AI Safety Summit, bringing together global leaders, tech industry giants, and academics to discuss effective regulation of the rapidly advancing technology. Following the two-day summit, over 25 government representatives signed a joint declaration committing to international cooperation and a unified oversight approach.
To keep pace with AI advancements, it was agreed that future summits would occur every six months. South Korea will host the upcoming summit, predominantly in a virtual format, with France scheduled to host the subsequent in-person summit later in 2024.
Key Quotes:
Lee Jong-Ho, from South Korea’s Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology, remarked, “The AI Safety Summit held in Bletchley last year marked a milestone in which the government, industry, and academia came together to address the potential risks of AI, and I am pleased that the Republic of Korea takes the baton from the UK.”
He emphasized the significance of establishing global norms and governance to effectively harness technological innovations for the betterment of humanity.
Source – Source: Reuters
