King Charles warns top AI leaders of existential dangers, offers proposals to rein in technology

King Charles III on Thursday urged senior leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Nvidia to make sure that artificial intelligence remains under control and in the service of people and the planet.The gathering in Scotland was convened to discuss how AI can benefit society, and comes at a pivotal moment for the technology as debate swirls around whether rapid advances will soon put it beyond the ability of humans to rein it in.“The development of AI – its substance and its pace – are both intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure,” the king said in his opening remarks.The “existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways” should be urgently considered, he said.“Surely, we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late?”The king asked attendees, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis, to consider the “fundamental principles” that should guide AI development.ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar was also at the meeting, along with Britain’s AI Minister Kanishka Narayan.An Anthropic representative was also expected to attend, according to a Buckingham Palace statement.The meeting comes as global attention focuses on AI’s breakneck progress and warnings that it could race out of control, threatening humanity.

It was held at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, headquarters of The King’s Foundation, which is the monarch’s charity.After an Anthropic researcher caught world attention when he announced his resignation with a grave warning about the technology’s risks, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded with an essay saying that the industry might need to slow the pace of its work.One of his proposals was for companies and countries to work together on a coordinated plan for such a slowdown.The king, without naming any countries or companies, said he wanted meeting partic...