Elon Musk is in the UK for a pivotal summit on AI — here's who's going

Elon Musk, the CEO of X, departed from a nonpartisan assembly on Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 2023.

As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is certainly true of Mandel Ngan's photograph. The stark contrast between the uniformed police officer and the Black Lives Matter protester, who appears to be in mid-scream, speaks volumes about the current state of America. The image captures the tension and division that has characterized the country's response to ongoing racial protests. It's a reminder that while progress has been made, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved. Ngan's photograph serves as a powerful symbol of the struggle for justice and as a call to action for all who believe in the principles of equality and freedom.

The United Kingdom is starting its significant conference on artificial intelligence on Wednesday. In attendance will be political figures and executives from leading AI companies coming together to discuss and agree on how to ensure the secure and responsible advancement of this fast-growing technology on a global scale.

The conference lasting for two days occurs on November 1-2 in Bletchley Park, the historic residence of the codebreakers of the British World War II. It welcomes government representatives and enterprises coming from various countries globally, including the United States and China - the two dominant powers striving to create advanced AI technologies.

This is an opportunity for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to showcase the United Kingdom's stance in the worldwide conversation about artificial intelligence and how it ought to be governed. The race to determine global AI regulations has heightened since the unveiling of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which is backed by Microsoft.

Many influential figures from the world of technology and politics will be present at the event. These include notable names like Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who arrived in the United Kingdom on his personal airplane on Tuesday night, and Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States. Musk is representing xAI, his artificial intelligence startup, at the gathering.

You have the opportunity to view live the most important conferences and presentations held at the summit on this website.

According to the complete list of attendees and information provided by CNBC, some of the most prominent individuals in the fields of technology and politics will be making appearances on Wednesday and Thursday.

Top officials from Sony, a leading electronics company from South Korea, and tech giants Alibaba and Tencent from China are anticipated to make an appearance.

Who's Missing?

A few top officials have turned down the invitation to take part in the summit and are opting to have their delegates attend instead.

The French leader known as Emmanuel Macron.

The information that’s being shared in this blog section comes from an image provider named Chesnot and their associated news service. The specific photo they’ve provided and are discussing here is related to some news content they’ve created.

On Monday, reporters questioned Sunak's spokesperson about whether or not Sunak feels excluded by his international colleagues. The spokesperson responded by saying that he does not feel left out at all.

"Summit's Objectives: Addressing Key Issues"

The primary goal of the AI summit in the United Kingdom is to establish international cooperation in establishing ethical and responsible principles for creating AI models.

The main topic of the conference is concentrated on the type of AI models known as "frontier AI". This refers to the more advanced and elaborate language models like the ones created by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere.

The primary focus is to tackle the two main types of risks associated with AI, which are improper use and a lack of management.

There is a risk of misuse when it comes to new AI capabilities. This means that a person with bad intentions might be able to take advantage of AI and cause harm. For instance, a cybercriminal could use AI to create a harmful software that is not easily detectable by security experts. Additionally, AI could also be used by government actors to develop harmful biological weapons.

The government has warned about the dangers of loss of control risks. In this case, it means that artificial intelligence, which humans have created, might potentially turn against them. This problem could happen as a result of highly advanced systems that were intended to be aligned with our values and goals.

Sunak is in a delicate position, attempting to increase the involvement of major technology companies in the United Kingdom's economy, while simultaneously demonstrating to community organizations that he acknowledges the potential negative effects that AI could have on employment.

A worry that stands out is the possibility that the technology might take over or weaken human intelligence.

Before the meeting, over 100 groups, such as the Trades Union Congress, Connected by Data, and Open Rights Group, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern that the summit is an exclusive occasion controlled by major technology companies, and has excluded small enterprises and artists.

Results from a recent survey carried out by the Data and Marketing Association have discovered that 43% of small and medium-sized businesses have no intentions of implementing artificial intelligence in their operations within the next year, as they are worried about potential safety hazards.

The director of DMA, Rachel Aldighieri, mentioned that the implementation and usage of AI are quite limited amongst their trade association members.

Aldighieri shared via phone with CNBC on Tuesday that not only small and medium-sized enterprises are affected, but also large corporations such as banks and travel companies. These companies are still unable to fully utilize AI tools due to their concern for minimizing risks.

Leadership teams in government must collaborate with the private sector, including big and small companies, to gain more insight into the usefulness of safety protocols and ethical principles to encourage wider acceptance and use of AI technologies. It's vital to achieve this goal while still allowing for creative thinking and innovation.