The UK tackling AI risks before other countries will be key to unlocking the technology’s economic and societal benefits, the tech secretary has said.
Speaking at an event in Westminster hosted by centre-right think tank Onward, Michelle Donelan, the secretary of state for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), said that understanding the biggest risks posed by AI was an essential first step before capturing its benefits.
“To some, this may sound overcautious, or that we are being driven by fear of the risks rather than optimism about the opportunities,” said Donelan, “but actually I think it is rather about the opportunities that we are focusing on.”
Donelan said that the “country which tackles key AI safety risks first will be the first to fully take advantage of the huge potential that AI has to provide”, as the UK prepares to host its first international summit on AI safety.
The tech secretary claimed that the UK is “putting more investment” into questions of AI safety now than “any other country in the world”.
The prime minister said in June that he wanted to make the UK the “geographical home of global AI safety” and has made it his goal for the country to establish a leadership role in the field before other countries.
Donelan said that the AI Safety Summit would be the “first of many” events of its kind and that she hoped other countries would host their own.
However, some in the UK tech sector have said the event seems rushed to score political points, while others have criticised the lack of involvement for AI startups.