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Context

• Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar addressed the 1st Plenary session of ‘AI Safety Summit 2023’ in the UK. 

Details

• The 2023 Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit is an international conference discussing the safety and regulation of artificial intelligence.
• It is being held in Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, on 1–2 November 2023.
• It is the first-ever global summit on artificial intelligence.

Agenda

• 28 countries at the summit have issued an agreement known as the 'Bletchley Declaration', calling for international cooperation to manage the challenges and risks of artificial intelligence.
• Emphasis has been placed on regulating "Frontier AI", a term for the latest and most powerful AI systems.
• Concerns that have been raised at the summit include the potential use of AI for terrorism, criminal activity, and warfare, as well as the existential risk posed to humanity as a whole.

Understanding AI’s Promises and Risks

• The Bletchley Declaration offers a comprehensive snapshot of the global understanding of artificial intelligence’s promises and risks.
• Furthermore, it acknowledges the potential for severe, even catastrophic, harm caused by AI, whether intentional or unintentional.
• It highlights the importance of safeguarding human rights, transparency, explainability, fairness, accountability, regulation, safety, human oversight, ethics, bias mitigation, privacy, and data protection.

The Role of Civil Society and Industry

• The declaration stresses the importance of civil society’s involvement in addressing AI safety concerns, despite criticism from some civil society groups claiming exclusion from the summit.
• It also places a significant responsibility on companies developing “frontier” AI systems to ensure their safety through testing, evaluation, and appropriate measures.

Ambiguity and Uncertainty

• The Bletchley Declaration though falls short of offering firm commitments and concrete measures.
• It reflects the complex negotiations between nations with conflicting interests and legal systems, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and China.

Significance: Promising Start for International Cooperation

• While consensus remains elusive, the summit marks a promising start to international cooperation on a topic that only recently gained recognition as a serious global threat.
• Importantly, these AI safety summits will continue to be held regularly, with the next one scheduled for Korea in six months and another in France a year from now.
• The hope is that these events will be as inclusive as the Bletchley Declaration promises, fostering global collaboration on AI safety.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Recently, the “Bletchley Declaration” was issued. What is it related to? 1.    Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution 2.    International Collaboration on AI safety 3.    Call for biodiversity considerations in all sectors of the Global Economy 4.    Initiative to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Which of the above options is correct? A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4 Answer: B) 2