Leaders, tech companies commit to AI safety at Seoul summit
What's the story
Global leaders and top executives from the artificial intelligence (AI) industry gathered this week at an AI safety summit in Seoul.
The summit, co-hosted by the UK and South Korea, aimed to establish basic safety measures for the rapidly advancing field of AI.
This meeting comes six months after the inaugural global summit on AI safety held at Bletchley Park in England.
Network formation
New international network for AI safety announced
The British government announced on Tuesday the establishment of an international network, similar to the UK's AI Safety Institute.
This network is dedicated to accelerating the advancement of AI safety science.
Ten countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US, along with the European Union have signed this agreement.
Declaration details
Seoul Declaration emphasizes human-centric AI development
The first day of the Seoul AI Summit saw world leaders and top AI companies participating in a virtual meeting.
The discussions, chaired by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, revolved around AI safety, innovation, and inclusion.
The leaders agreed to the broader Seoul Declaration which emphasizes "human-centric, trustworthy, and responsible" international collaboration in building AI to address major global issues.
Sunak's statement
Sunak highlights importance of AI safety
In a UK government statement, Sunak expressed his enthusiasm for AI technology and the UK's role in its global development.
He emphasized the importance of ensuring safety in AI, stating it was essential.
Sunak also expressed delight over the agreement for a network of AI Safety Institutes, calling it a significant step toward managing potential risks associated with AI technology.
Safety pledge
AI companies make safety commitments at Seoul summit
The summit also saw the world's first AI Safety Commitments from 16 companies involved in AI, including Amazon, Anthropic, Cohere, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Samsung Electronics, Technology Innovation Institute, xAi and Zhipu.ai.
These global companies have agreed not to develop or deploy any model or system if mitigations cannot keep risks below certain thresholds.
Sunak hailed this as a "world first" in terms of global agreement on AI safety.
Risk recognition
Summit acknowledges risks of rapidly evolving AI technology
The summit acknowledged a widening front of risks from rapidly evolving technology.
These risks are not only existential to humanity but also include issues like AI inequality, data scarcity, use of copyright material, and environmental impact due to high electricity consumption by AI data centers.
This recognition underscores the importance of the safety measures discussed during the summit.