By Gerhard Mey
CUMNOCK, Scotland, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles warned AI leaders on Thursday of the "existential dangers" posed by the technology falling into the wrong hands, saying safeguards were needed before it was too late.
Charles was hosting the co-founders of chipmaker Nvidia and the Google DeepMind AI research laboratory, along with leaders from the AI providers OpenAI and Anthropic, in Scotland as concern grows that safety efforts are lagging behind the development of increasingly
powerful systems.
In recent weeks, the debate has centred on whether the industry can and should regulate itself, drawing interventions from figures including Pope Leo, Charles and US President Donald Trump.
CHARLES CALLS FOR CONTROLS 'BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE'
Charles said artificial intelligence had the potential to improve and save lives, particularly in life sciences and medicine.
But its creators were increasingly warning that it could develop darker capacities, "perhaps even to take life", he said.
"There seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways," he told leaders at his Dumfries House estate.
"Surely we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late?"
The guests included Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, Google DeepMind founder and chairman Demis Hassabis, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, Anthropic's Chief Global Affairs Officer Tino Cuéllar and British Minister for Artificial Intelligence Kanishka Narayan.
Paolo Benanti, an adviser to the pope who has urged governments to slow AI development, also attended.
The debate over AI was rekindled when two Anthropic researchers warned that its rapid advances could lead to human extinction in the not-too-distant future.
AI firms have also reported their models escaping their testing constraints to hack into outside networks.
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Huang said AI had to be built with "responsible optimism", with the onus on the developers themselves.
He said companies had to become much more rigorous in making sure that their products were ready before releasing them.
"If it's not ready, just hold it back," he said to broadcasters on the sidelines of the meeting. "You should go as fast as you can, but no faster than that."
Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei has also urged companies to slow the pace of AI development.
His call sparked an international debate over whether some executives have ulterior motives such as setting rules that preserve the lead of their firms, pre-empting a broader government backlash, or simply slowing breakneck spending.
Narayan, the British AI minister, said discussions had focused on the responsibilities of companies to make sure they were building AI for people's interest.
Rather than being a one-off, the meeting was one of a "series of conversations" about the role Britain could play in the responsible development of AI, he said.
"We have some of the best capability in testing, understanding risks, and then mitigating them," he said.
The meeting in Scotland highlighted how Charles, first as Prince of Wales and now as king, has used his position to convene discussions on a range of global issues.
Huang said Charles had brought up AI safety the first time they had met.
"If there's anybody who spoke more profoundly and more deeply about responsible optimism, the King was one of the first to express it to me," he said.
(Writing by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle in London; additional reporting by William James in London; Editing by Mark Potter and Kevin Liffey)
