For this unprecedented international summit, the British government has chosen a location emblematic of the development of computer technologies. A 19th century Victorian Gothic mansion, symbol of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany: Bletchley Park, 80 kilometers north of London.
It is in this area, where the mathematician Alan Turing managed to break the code of the Enigma machine, that the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is organizing on Wednesday November 1 and Thursday November 2 an international meeting on the growth and risks of artificial intelligence (AI). A summit which should bring together around a hundred participants: executives from the web giants Google, OpenAI and Meta, but also representatives from the United States, China, the European Union and the UN.
This event aims to find a common position regarding the fears raised by this technological revolution, recently amplified by the rapid progress of generative AI like ChatGPT. And this, while several participating countries have already invested billions in start-ups in this sector.
A first international declaration on AI expected
The stakes are high for the British government. Job destruction, cyberattacks or even loss of control by humans… The more or less realistic potential dangers of artificial intelligence have provoked social debates in many countries for a year, while no global regulations exist.
The Bletchley Park meeting therefore aims to initiate international cooperation. The first day will be dedicated to abuses such as “threats to national security and the existential threat posed by systems beyond human control”, followed by a second day aimed at bringing together “a small group of foreign governments, companies and “experts to discuss the concrete measures that can be taken” in the face of the dangers mentioned, details daily life across the Channel The Guardian. A team of specialists desired on the model of the IPCC on climate.
Above all, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to achieve the “first international declaration on the nature” of the risks of AI. An opportunity to position ourselves as a pioneer of international cooperation on this issue, in a context of calls for a stricter framework on a global scale.
Particularly since the start of the week: Monday October 30, the G7 countries agreed in Japan on a non-binding “code of conduct” intended for companies developing the most advanced AI systems. The same day, three French, German and Italian ministers meeting in Rome pleaded for an approach “favorable to innovation” in the European Union, while the Twenty-Seven hope to conclude their first regulation governing AI before the end of the year 2023. All this, in parallel with the signing on Monday of the first American decree to regulate the use of these technologies by President Joe Biden.
Alarmist countries but in the midst of an investment race
If the presence of these nations still remains uncertain, while the war between Israel and Hamas monopolizes international attention, Rishi Sunak repeats that there cannot be a “serious strategy for AI without at least trying to involve all the major world powers.
Because beyond the potential risks of artificial intelligence, these technologies are also seen as a geopolitical issue by many countries. The development and rapid integration of AI in many economic sectors have indeed pushed several of these great powers to invest massively in young companies in this industry.
Thus, the United States and China are currently the two largest countries investing in venture capital in AI start-ups, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). For 2022 alone, Washington has accumulated $56.7 billion in investments, followed by Beijing with $21.5 billion. On the podium, London is the third challenger in this AI race, but remains far behind the two leaders, with $7.1 billion invested in venture capital in young companies.
If this is less than the 27 countries of the European Union combined (15.8 billion dollars), it remains well above the investments of Germany (3.7 billion) or France (2.8 billion), respectively 6th and 8th in this ranking.
Different investment sectors depending on the country
Everyone hopes to create future AI giants, like the success of the American company OpenAI and its ChatGPT service. Even so, the most advanced countries are adopting different strategies depending on the type of AI industries in which they invest. According to the OECD, the United States thus places the majority of its investment in the health sector (10.6 billion) then in IT infrastructure and online hosting (8 billion). China, for its part, invests the same amount in mobility and autonomous vehicles as in robots and intelligent sensors (around 5 billion).
For its part, the United Kingdom mainly focuses on start-ups in the finance and insurance sector (2.8 billion). For the country hosting the Bletchley Park summit, the challenge will therefore be to successfully reconcile its ambition in current artificial intelligence and the alarmist declarations of the British Prime Minister on the future of AI.
An open letter published Monday by a hundred international organizations, experts and activists notably called on Rishi Sunak to focus on AI threats “here and now”, facing a summit where tech giants will be numerous.