Global AI safety summit publishes Bletchley Declaration

Ireland among 28 signatories to declaration that aims to set ground rules for development of AI and managing the risks it presents

Ian Hogarth, chairman of the UK's AI Foundation Model Taskforce, at the opening plenary at the AI safety summit. Photograph: Leon Neal/PA Wire
Ian Hogarth, chairman of the UK's AI Foundation Model Taskforce, at the opening plenary at the AI safety summit. Photograph: Leon Neal/PA Wire

Britain on Wednesday published a Bletchley Declaration, agreed with countries including the United States and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to co-operate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety.

The declaration, by 28 countries in total, including Ireland, was published on the opening day of the AI Safety Summit hosted in Bletchley Park, in England, the first global summit on the safe use of artificial intelligence.

Dara Calleary, Ireland’s digital minister, is representing the Government at the first plenary session of the summit, which is also being attended by industry heavyweights including Elon Musk and Meta president of global affairs, Nick Clegg.

“The declaration fulfils key summit objectives in establishing shared agreement and responsibility on the risks, opportunities and a forward process for international collaboration on frontier AI safety and research, particularly through greater scientific collaboration,” Britain said in a separate statement accompanying the declaration.

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The declaration encouraged transparency and accountability from actors developing frontier AI technology on their plans to measure, monitor and mitigate potentially harmful capabilities.

It set out a two-pronged agenda focused on identifying risks of shared concern and building the scientific understanding of them, and also building cross-country policies to mitigate them.

“This includes, alongside increased transparency by private actors developing frontier AI capabilities, appropriate evaluation metrics, tools for safety testing, and developing relevant public sector capability and scientific research,” the declaration said. – Reuters