CUMNOCK: Britain's King Charles warned AI leaders on Thursday of the "existential dangers" posed by the technology falling into the wrong hands, with potentially catastrophic consequences, saying safeguards were needed before it becomes "too late".
Charles was hosting the co-founders of Nvidia and Google DeepMind, along with leaders from OpenAI and Anthropic, in Scotland as concern grows that AI safety efforts are lagging behind the development of increasingly powerful systems.
In recent weeks, the debate has centred on whether the industry can and should regulate itself, drawing interventions from global figures including Pope Leo XIV, Charles and US President Donald Trump.
Charles said artificial intelligence had the potential to improve and save lives, particularly in life sciences and medicine.
But its creators were increasingly warning that it could develop darker capacities, "perhaps even to take life", he said.
"There seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways," he told leaders gathered at his Dumfries House estate.
"Surely, we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late?"
Attendees included Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, Google DeepMind founder and chairman Demis Hassabis, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and Britain's Minister for Artificial Intelligence Kanishka Narayan.
Paolo Benanti, an adviser to the pope who has called for governments to slow AI development, was also expected to attend.
The debate over AI has been thrust back into the spotlight after two Anthropic researchers warned that the rapidly advancing technology could lead to human extinction in the not-too-distant future.
Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei has also called for companies to slow the pace of AI development.
However, that has sparked an international debate over whether some executives have ulterior motives, such as setting rules that preserve the lead of particular companies, acting now to avoid a broader government backlash, or simply slowing spending in the race to develop AI. — AFP
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