South Korea and Britain to Jointly host International Summit on AI

South Korea and Britain are hosting a major international summit on artificial intelligence in Seoul this week, with a focus on AI safety. The AI Seoul Summit, which begins on Tuesday (May 21), follows the inaugural global AI safety summit held at Bletchley Park in Britain last year. That event saw numerous countries expressing their concerns to leading AI firms about the risks their technologies might pose.

This year’s summit will feature representatives from prominent AI companies, including OpenAI (the maker of ChatGPT), Google DeepMind, French AI firm Mistral, Microsoft, and Anthropic. Safety is a key theme at the summit, reflecting ongoing concerns about the potential misuse of AI.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighted these concerns in a joint article published on Monday in the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo and Britain’s i newspaper. They noted that, as with any new technology, AI introduces new risks, including the potential for deliberate misuse. "With new models being released almost every week, we are still learning where these risks may emerge," they wrote.

The release of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a significant moment in the AI industry, sparking a wave of investment and development in generative AI. These models can create text, photos, audio, and video from simple prompts and are seen by many as transformative tools that can enhance various aspects of life and business.

However, there are significant concerns about the misuse of AI technologies. Critics, rights activists, and governments have warned about potential dangers, such as the spread of fake news and the creation of "deepfake" images and videos, which can manipulate voters and harm political processes.

The AI Seoul Summit aims to address these issues by fostering discussions between governments and AI firms to develop safer AI practices and mitigate risks associated with the technology.