Britain appoints tech expert, diplomat to spearhead its AI summit

Britain chooses tech expert Matt Clifford and former senior diplomat Jonathan Black to lead global AI summit this year

LONDON:

Britain has chosen tech expert Matt Clifford and former senior diplomat Jonathan Black to lead preparations for its global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) later this year.

The two will be tasked with rallying political leaders, AI companies and experts ahead of the event this autumn, the government said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in June pitched Britain as a possible leader in ensuring the safety of the fast developing technology, saying he wanted to make the country "not just the intellectual home, but the geographical home" of AI regulation.

Governments around the world are wrestling with how to control the potential negative consequences of AI without stifling innovation.

Sunak's government is yet to name the date for the event or set out who is likely to attend.

The European Union has taken a lead with its proposed AI Act, which it aims will become a global benchmark for the booming technology.

Other countries, however, are favouring a "wait and see" approach or are leaning towards a more flexible regulatory regime.

Britain has opted to split regulatory responsibility for AI between those bodies that oversee human rights, health and safety, and competition, rather than creating a new body dedicated to the technology.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) economies made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and the European Union, in May called for adoption of standards to create "trustworthy" AI and to set up a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process".