AI Safety Summit: What is it and who will be joining Elon Musk at Bletchley Park event?
World leaders and huge technology firms are expected at a major summit on artificial intelligence (AI) organised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The gathering will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at Bletchley Park - the famous home of World War Two code-breakers - near Milton Keynes.
It will convene international governments, leading AI firms and experts to discuss how the technology's risks can be mitigated through internationally-co-ordinated action.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk was one of the key figures at the summit who warned the world to "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" from artificial intelligence.
Speaking to broadcasters at the major gathering in person, the Tesla and X owner said: "A little bit of fear [of AI] is probably wise... my personal opinion is that AI is at least 80% likely to be beneficial and perhaps 20% dangerous, although this is obviously speculative at this point.
"If we hope for the best but prepare for the worst, that seems a wise course of action.
"The very worst could be extremely bad but I think the probability of extremely bad is low."
The King also sent a personal message to the summit on the opening day where he warned of "significant risks" of artificial intelligence.
He said: "AI holds the potential to completely transform life as we know it. However, if we are to realise the untold benefits of AI then we must work together on combatting its significant risks too."
The King added there was a clear imperative to ensure the "rapidly-evolving" technology remains safe and secure, and because AI did not "respect international boundaries" the mission to keep it safe for everyone demanded "international co-ordination and collaboration".
AI's development and use has rapidly grown in recent years and while the automation could reform many aspects of everyday life, there are concerns about how to use it responsibly.
Here is everything you need to know about the summit, who will be going and why AI is a big deal.
What is the AI Safety Summit?
The prime minister hopes the summit on AI safety will cement the UK’s status as a leading world player in the cutting-edge technology.
The summit, which is the first of its kind for AI, is intended to discuss how to ensure the technology can be used safely around the world.
AI can be used in an almost endless variety of applications - such as from writing essays, to creating fake videos, diagnosing disease or for automated robotics.
Who will be going to the summit?
It is expected that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk will attend the summit, though it is unknown at this stage whether this will be remotely or in person.
The billionaire chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX will also speak to Rishi Sunak on a livestream chat on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, after the summit.
It is not yet clear which international leaders will attend the summit.
The White House has confirmed that US vice president Kamala Harris will attend the summit rather than President Joe Biden, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are also not likely to attend.
Downing Street said the prime minister did not believe he was being snubbed by international counterparts.
It is also not clear if China will send a representative, but a spokesperson for the prime minister said it was "important" to invite the "world leaders in AI" to the summit.
Why is the summit being held and why is AI controversial?
The safety summit is being held because AI has evolved at a fast pace, from large language models like ChatGPT - which can follow instructions to write essays and more - to futuristic robotics.
It can be used to prevent fraud in banking and is helping with healthcare, but its rapid emergence has prompted calls for thorough regulation and scrutiny to prevent it being used dangerously, with potentially world-changing consequences.
The use of deepfakes, in which celebrities and world leaders' faces and voices have been used to create realistic videos and even pornography, have demonstrated the dangers of AI.
Should the technology be used with malicious intent, there could be huge consequences for democracy and world safety, such as a fake video made of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine telling his troops to walk away from the war against Russia.
Some of the biggest names in the development of AI have said world leaders should be "mitigating the risk of extinction" for humanity.
Business and academic leaders said the risks from AI should be treated with the same urgency as "pandemics or nuclear war".
Mr Sunak said the government was "looking very carefully" at the warnings, with the safety summit hoped to bring progressive discussions about what can be done to ensure greater safety with the use of AI.
What is Bletchley Park?
Bletchley Park is a fitting location for the technology summit, as it was crucial to code-breaking during World War Two.
The site is seen as one of the birthplaces of computer science pioneered by Alan Turing.
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Codebreakers based there decrypted German messages, most famously by breaking the Enigma code, feeding crucial information to Allied forces that is believed to have shortened the war by two years and helped to save millions of lives.
What safety measures and road closures are in the Bletchley Park area?
Thames Valley Police said it had a "substantial number of security measures" in place to keep the delegates and local community safe during the summit.
Temporary barriers have been installed on footpaths and roads nearby, as well as security fencing and an increased police presence.
Bletchley Park will be closed until 6 November and a number of road restrictions will be in place before and during the event, including Wilton Avenue.
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