Use of AI to create bioweapons, weapons of mass destruction concerns the UK

As the United Kingdom prepares for the global artificial intelligence safety summit, discussions on use of the technology to create weapons of mass destruction and bioweapons by terrorists are said to dominate the summit attended by world leaders. Britain has been airing concerns about the ability of technology to evade human control altogether.

According to reports, the UK is sending representatives across the globe to build a consensus and to issue a joint statement about the dangers of using the technology to cause death on a large scale by rogue actors. The Guardian reported, “Some of those around the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak worry the technology will soon be powerful enough to help individuals create bioweapons or evade human control altogether.”

A person in the know of developments said at the world summit, Downing Street would warn world leaders about the risks of Frontier AI - the most advanced AI models that could pose a risk to human life.

According to reports, at the summit, the UK is keen to issue a formal joint statement and a commitment to hold other such summits in future. Rishi Sunak is building a £100m AI taskforce to test algorithms as and when they are developed. UK plans to urge companies to send AI tools to the UK for assessment before wider rollout.