Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Summit to confront ‘frontier’ AI concerns

Sunak and other leaders have increasingly joined the industry itself in arguing that current regulation of frontier AI is likely to be insufficient for the challenges it will pose

Summit to confront ‘frontier’ AI concerns

THE UK government will welcome foreign political leaders, tech industry figures, academics and others this week for a two-day summit billed as the first of its kind on artificial intelligence (AI).

The gathering, set to be attended by prime minister Rishi Sunak, US vice-president Kamala Harris, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, will focus on growing fears about the implications of so-called frontier AI.


The most advanced generation of AI models, they have prompted concerns around everything from job losses and cyber attacks to humans losing control of the systems they have designed.

Sunak and other leaders have increasingly joined the industry itself in arguing that current regulation of frontier AI is likely to be insufficient for the challenges it will pose.

“My vision, and our ultimate goal, should be to work towards a more international approach to safety where we collaborate with partners to ensure AI systems are safe before they are released,” Sunak said in a speech this week.

“We will push hard to agree the first ever international statement about the nature of these risks,” he added. Sunak is proposing the creation of an international expert panel similar to one formed for climate change.

London, which initiated the gathering, has insisted it is taking the lead at the behest of US president Joe Biden, and because the two countries have some of the leading companies in the sector.

But it has reportedly had to scale back its ambitions around ideas such as launching a new regulatory body amid a perceived lack of enthusiasm.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is one of the only world leaders, and only G7 leader, attending the conference, which starts on Wednesday (1), after Eastern Eye went to press.

Sunak’s spokesman told reporters this week that “getting all the right people around the table to discuss this important issue” represented “an enormous achievement in itself”.

The summit will be held at a deliberately symbolic location – Bletchley Park, where top British codebreakers cracked Nazi Germany’s “Enigma” code, helping to hasten the end of the Second World War.

From smartphones to airports, AI is already ubiquitous in everyday life, but its progress has accelerated with the development of technologies such as ChatGPT.

“It’s clear to me that what’s going to happen this year, in these next two, three years, in 200 years, (is that) historians will have a name for this period,” Aldo Faisal, an AI and neuroscience professor, said at a briefing in October.

While the potential of AI raises many hopes, particularly for medicine, its development is seen as largely unchecked.

In his speech, Sunak stressed the need for countries to develop “a shared understanding of the risks that we face”.

However, the lack of world leaders, particularly from G7 countries, has dominated discussion of the summit in Britain.

Ahead of the meeting, the G7 powers agreed on Monday (30) on a non-binding “code of conduct” for companies developing the most advanced AI systems.

In the US, the White House announced its own plan to set safety standards for the deployment of AI that will require companies to submit certain systems to government review.

And in Rome, ministers from Italy, Germany and France called for an “innovation-friendly approach” to regulating AI in Europe, as they urged more investments in order to challenge the US and China.

China will be present, but it is unclear at what level. News website Politico reported London had invited president Xi Jinping, to signify its eagerness for a senior representative at the summit.

Beijing’s invitation has raised global eyebrows amid heightened tensions with Western nations and accusations of technological espionage.

Although the UK sees itself as the driving force behind international cooperation on AI, its emphasis on potential disasters has dismayed some in the sector.

They would prefer to stress existing AI issues, such as a lack of transparency in the models designed by companies and their racial or gender bias, rather than the more alarmist fears that are noted by Sunak.

Detractors have also noted that the common ethical principles that the UK is seeking to establish are likely to clash with the interests of AI labs and tech giants, which are predominantly Chinese and American.

That could limit the likelihood of anything meaningful emerging from the summit.

More than 100 UK and international organisations, experts and campaigners published an open letter on Monday to Sunak, branding the summit a “missed opportunity” and too tailored towards “big tech”.

The coalition – which includes unions, rights groups like Amnesty International and tech community voices – warned that “communities and workers most affected by AI have been marginalised,” with the invites “selective and limited”. (AFP)

More For You

UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Key issues in India, US trade talks

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian government sources said to Reuters, dashing hopes of reaching an interim deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

Here are the key issues at play:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump-Getty

Trump said that while deals are being made with some countries, others may face tariffs.

Getty Images

Trump says major trade deal with India may be finalised soon

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday said a "very big" trade deal could be finalised with India, suggesting significant movement in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," Trump said at the “Big Beautiful Bill” event at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

Asda co-ownerMohsin Issa. (Photo: Asda)

Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

ASDA, one of Britain’s largest supermarkets, has reported a pre-tax loss of £599 million for 2024, swinging sharply from a £180 million profit the previous year.

The loss comes despite total sales rising by over £1 billion to £26.8bn, as the retailer faces mounting debt costs, falling sales, and spiralling spending on a major IT overhaul, the Telegraph reported.

Keep ReadingShow less