The UK is set to host the first AI Safety Summit this November at the world-famous Bletchley Park.
The Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit will take place between 1-2 November to consider the risks of AI and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action.
Frontier AI models hold enormous potential to power economic growth, drive scientific progress and broader public benefits, and pose potential safety risks if not developed responsibly.
Bletchley Park is a significant location in the history of computer science and Enigma codebreaking.
The UK’s position as an AI superpower
The UK boasts strong credentials as a world leader in AI.
The technology employs over 50,000 people, directly supports one of the Prime Minister’s five priorities by contributing £3.7bn to the economy, and is the birthplace of leading AI companies such as Google DeepMind.
It has also invested more in AI safety research than any other nation, backing the creation of the Foundation Model Taskforce with an initial £100m.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly explained: “The origins of modern AI can be traced back to Bletchley Park. Now, it will also be home to the global effort to shape its responsible use with the AI Safety Summit.”
The AI Safety Summit will encourage a shared approach
The event will rally leading AI nations to ensure the summit provides a platform for countries to work together on further developing a shared approach to mitigate the risks of AI.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The UK has long been home to the transformative technologies of the future, so there is no better place to host the first-ever global AI Safety Summit than at Bletchley Park this November.
“With the combined strength of our international partners, thriving AI industry, and expert academic community, we can secure the rapid international action we need for the safe and responsible development of AI around the world.”
The AI Safety Summit will also build on ongoing work at international forums, including the OECD, Global Partnership on AI, Council of Europe, and the UN and standards-development organisations, as well as the recently agreed G7 Hiroshima AI Process.
Bletchley Park location highlights the UK’s leading position in technology advancements
Bletchley Park’s role in hosting the summit reflects the UK’s proud tradition of being at the frontier of new technology advancements.
Since Alan Turing’s celebrated work some eight decades ago, computing and computer science have become fundamental pillars of life both in the UK and across the globe.
“It’s fitting that the very spot where leading minds harnessed emerging technologies to influence the successful outcome of World War Two will, once again, be the crucible for international co-ordinated action with the AI Safety Summit,” commented Iain Standen, CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust.
The roots of AI can be traced back to the leading minds who worked at Bletchley during the Second World War, with codebreakers Jack Good and Donald Michie among those who went on to write extensive works on the technology.
