With many world leaders expected to shun the UK’s AI Safety Summit, Rishi Sunak is turning to a tech firebrand for support.
Elon Musk is said to be attending the global summit and will also host a livestreamed chat with the PM on X following the gathering on Thursday evening (November 2).
Getting the world’s most talked about billionaire on the VIP list should draw more attention to the event. In return, the PM’s appearance on X could draw some much-needed engagement to Musk's social network, which appears to be in a perennial state of crisis.
How to watch the interview
The live conversation will be broadcast on X, formerly Twitter, but the exact timing and format have yet to be announced.
Mr Musk has previously held conversations with politicians and the press on the platform’s live audio channels, known as Twitter Spaces. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis infamously kicked off his presidential bid in a Twitter Space with Mr Musk that was mired by technical glitches.
In conversation with @elonmusk
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 30, 2023
After the AI Safety Summit
Thursday night on @x pic.twitter.com/kFUyNdGD7i
After discussing high-level topics like AI safety, the last thing Mr Sunak will want is for his live chat to be interrupted by a spotty connection.
What is likely to be discussed?
The conversation will likely cover the talking points from the global summit, chief among them the threat posed by AI to society and humanity.
As attendees ascended upon the meeting at Bletchley Park, home of the allied codebreaking effort during World War II, Mr Sunak laid out its aims.
He said the goal was to agree the first ever international statement about the risks from AI. Other objectives include the establishment of a global expert panel, nominated by attendees, tasked with publishing a State of AI Science report. The longer term vision is for global partners to work together to ensure AI systems are safe before they are released.
Both Mr Sunak and Mr Musk have warned about the existential dangers of the burgeoning technology.
The Tesla and X boss has said that AI is vastly more risky than the threat posed by North Korea, and could be used by the environmental movement to destroy humanity. Mr Musk has also reportedly started an AI company after calling out chatbot ChatGPT’s “woke” bias.
Mr Sunak has said that, if not correctly monitored, AI could be harnessed to aid terror and cyber attacks, as well as used to build chemical or biological weapons.
It’s a stance that has put them at odds with some of the most influential people in the field. Prof Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist and one of the godfathers of the tech, who is also expected to attend the summit, has described fears that AI could pose a threat to humanity as "ridiculously preposterous”.
Who is attending the AI Safety Summit?
With the AI summit, Rishi Sunak’s Government is looking to place itself at the forefront of global discussion about the emerging technology.
Other guests at the gathering will include Open AI's Sam Altman and Meta's Nick Clegg. State leaders, on the other hand, could be thin on the ground amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni is expected to be the only leader of the G7 to attend, with vice president Kamala Harris representing the US.
