Sunak to meet Google boss for AI threat talks as regulation debate heats up
Rishi Sunak and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai will reportedly meet tomorrow for talks on the threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI).
The Prime Minister and tech boss will hold a private meeting on Friday, according to Sky News.
Downing Street would not confirm the meeting to City PM and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It comes after Sunak met with the CEOs of OpenAI, Google Deepmind and Anthropic earlier this week to discuss plans for joint efforts to ensure AI is developed safely and responsibly.
Science, innovation and technology secretary Chloe Smith, standing in for Michelle Donelan who is on maternity leave, also joined the meeting.
Alphabet boss Pichai, who has admitted to having “sleepless nights” over the nighmare AI could pose, earlier this week warned over the need to regulate the rapidly expanding tech and urged the US and Europe to work together.
Meanwhile, OpenAI boss Sam Altman told reporters in London today he was concerned over proposed EU regulations on AI, which he said could see the firm forced to pull ChatGPT services from the bloc.
In a statement, a No10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister made clear that AI is the defining technology of our time, with the potential to positively transform humanity.
“But the success of this technology is founded on having the right guardrails in place, so that the public can have confidence that AI is used in a safe and responsible way.”
They continued: “AI will improve life dramatically, from transforming industries to delivering scientific breakthroughs.
“The PM and CEOs committed to work together to ensure society benefits from such transformation.”
Ministers recently set out plans to unlock the opportunities of AI for progressing the UK’s tech sector and realising growth potential, while ensuring regulation is effective, in the AI White Paper.
Talks between global leaders at the UN saw agreement reached that AI safety will be an “international endeavour”, a government spokesperson said.
Discussions included risks from AI such as disinformation, national security and existential threats, as well as safety measures, risk management and international collaboration.
Lab leaders said they would work with the UK government and the Foundation Model Taskforce, which is backed by an initial £100m of start-up funding to advance AI safety.