By Caribbean News Global

ENGLAND / USA – As the world grapples with the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday 7 June.

Breakthroughs from AI continue to improve our lives – from enabling paralysed people to walk to discovering superbug-killing antibiotics. But the development of AI is extraordinarily fast moving and this pace of change requires agile leadership. That is why the UK is taking action, because we have a global duty to ensure this technology is developed and adopted safely and responsibly, 10 Downing Street announced. Last week dozens of leading experts warned about the potential for AI to endanger humanity in similar ways to pandemics or nuclear weapons.

UK – US must build an alliance that protects our economies, says PM Sunak

In Washington DC, Wednesday, the prime minister stressed the importance of like-minded allies and companies working to develop an international framework to ensure the safe and reliable development and use of AI.

The summit, which will be hosted in the UK this autumn, will consider the risks of AI, including frontier systems, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. It will also provide a platform for countries to work together on further developing a shared approach to mitigate these risks, says the prime minister’s office.

“In recent weeks the prime minister has discussed this issue with a number of businesspeople and world leaders. This includes all members of the G7 who were united in their ambition to take a shared approach to this issue at the Hiroshima Summit last month.

“In May he also met the CEOs of the three most advanced frontier AI labs, OpenAI, DeepMind and Anthropic in Downing Street and the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology; and hosted a roundtable with senior AI leaders. The work at the AI safety summit will build on recent discussions at the G7, OECD and Global Partnership on AI.

“In July the foreign secretary will also convene the first-ever briefing of the UN Security Council on the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence for international peace and security.”

The UK is well-placed to convene discussions on the future of AI. The UK is a world leader in AI – ranking third behind the US and China. AI sector already contributes £3.7 billion to the UK economy and employs 50,000 people across the country.

“Our departure from the EU also allows us to act more quickly and agilely in response to this rapidly changing market. The UK was one of the first leading nations to set out a blueprint for the safe and responsible development of AI, which will be adaptive to the speed of advances in this technology. And the UK has launched an expert task force to help build and adopt the next generation of safe AI, backed by £100 million of funding, alongside a commitment to spend £900 million developing compute capacity, including an exascale supercomputer in the UK.

The prime minister said:

“AI has an incredible potential to transform our lives for the better. But we need to make sure it is developed and used in a way that is safe and secure. Time and time again throughout history we have invented paradigm-shifting new technologies and we have harnessed them for the good of humanity. That is what we must do again. No one country can do this alone. This is going to take a global effort. But with our vast expertise and commitment to an open, democratic international system, the UK will stand together with our allies to lead the way.”

By Caribbean News Global

LONDON, England – The UK’s Americas minister David Rutley is travelling to the heartland of the American Midwest from Tuesday, 30 May 2023, to promote UK-US trade ties that support millions of livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic says, Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

“Economic growth and the creation of better-paid jobs are among the five priorities set out by prime minister Rishi Sunak and minister Rutley will discuss with political and business leaders how the UK and US can boost cooperation in key sectors to make their economies more resilient, create jobs and protect livelihoods.”

In a visit to Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, David Rutley will champion the UK as a great investment and business partner for states across the US, building on the more than $1 trillion already invested in each other’s economies.

The US is the largest destination for UK foreign direct investment, and the UK supports more jobs in America than any other country in the world, with more than 1.2 million people in America working for British businesses.

Minister for the Americas and Caribbean Rutley, said:

“The US and the UK have more than $1 trillion already invested in each other’s economies and our relationship drives growth and supports millions of jobs. We’re working in partnership to take full advantage of the rich bounty of business opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.”

FCDO also advised that “The UK is strengthening trade ties with individual states across the US, in parallel to work with the federal government, and has already signed Memoranda of Understanding with Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Active engagement with other states, including Texas, Utah and California, is ongoing to sign further arrangements which will make it easier and cheaper for US and UK companies to do business with each other.”

Minister Rutley will hold bilateral meetings with leading state-level political and business figures, during his time in the Midwest.

“In Ohio, minister Rutley will also attend the 91st annual US Conference of Mayors in Columbus where he will meet with key political figures to showcase how the UK can work with cities across the country in building trading relationships that can help drive regional economic growth,” said FCDO in a press release.”