MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Britain's King Charles is holding a summit of AI executives in Dumfries, Scotland. It's happening as leaders of AI companies say they are afraid their technology poses a danger to humanity if left unchecked. NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab reports.
FATIMA AL-KASSAB, BYLINE: As top AI bosses arrived in southwest Scotland to attend King Charles' AI summit, they were greeted by giant anti-AI slogans scrawled on nearby beaches, left there by activists, some of whom recently campaigned outside Scottish Parliament against new data centers.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Data centers must go.
AL-KASSAB: King Charles, who, as monarch, doesn't usually get involved in politics, has taken an interest in the debate around the AI boom and is hosting representatives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia and Google DeepMind, as well as the U.K.'s own AI minister. They're expected to discuss ways AI can be harnessed to benefit society. Back in 2023, the king addressed the world's first AI safety summit, which was hosted by the U.K.
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KING CHARLES III: We are witnessing one of the greatest technological leaps in the history of human endeavor.
AL-KASSAB: In his speech, the king also warned of the risks posed by AI.
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CHARLES III: There is a clear imperative to ensure that this rapidly evolving technology remains safe and secure.
AL-KASSAB: The boss of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, said the king personally handed him a copy of that speech last year. Gina Neff, deputy CEO of Responsible AI UK, a government-funded research group, says the king might be uniquely placed to bring about much-needed discussions and consensus among AI leaders.
GINA NEFF: From the outside, it looks like the AI industry is one big monolith. Actually, these CEOs - they have very different points of view in terms of what should be done around AI safety.
AL-KASSAB: She says while the AI race continues between the U.S. and China, the U.K. can still have influence.
NEFF: The U.K. has this tradition of using their former imperial power as a soft power in the world. And I think there really is a role for the U.K. to play in kind of a third way between not the U.S. hands-off approach, not the Chinese approach.
AL-KASSAB: And she says the U.K. is positioning itself as a leader in ensuring AI responsibility and safety.
Fatima Al-Kassab, NPR News, London.
(SOUNDBITE OF JEL'S "KNOW YOU DON'T") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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