Losing control of artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest concern around the computer science, the Technology Secretary has said.
Michelle Donelan said a Terminator-style scenario was a “potential area” where AI development could lead but “there are several stages before that”.
The Technology Secretary was speaking to Times Radio from the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, where the Government has convened governments from around the world alongside tech firms and civil society to discuss the risks of the advancing technology.
The historic first day of the #AISafetySummit saw:
— Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (@SciTechgovuk) November 2, 2023
28 countries and the EU announcing the Bletchley Declaration
2 more AI Summits by South Korea and France
️ The UK announcing 2 cutting-edge supercomputers
Hear from @michelledonelan as day 2 of the Summit begins... pic.twitter.com/G5xFkOLvMg
On the loss of control concern – which has been a topic of discussion in private sessions at the summit – Ms Donelan said: “That is a risk that is much more hypothetical in nature, that naturally is the one that I am most concerned about because it is the one that would result in the gravest ramifications.”
Put to her that was the “Terminator scenario” – a reference to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film where machines take over the world – she said: “Well, that is one potential area where it could lead but there are several stages before that.”
Asked about such a threat as he arrived at the summit on Thursday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “we can’t be certain” about the risks of AI but there is a possibility they could be on a similar scale to pandemics and nuclear war.
However, he said it is important not to be “alarmist” because the debate is ongoing.
Asked whether a Terminator-style rise of the machines is possible, he said: “People developing this technology themselves have raised the risk that AI may pose and it’s important to not be alarmist about this. There’s debate about this topic. People in the industry themselves don’t agree and we can’t be certain.
“But there is a case to believe that it may pose a risk on a scale like pandemics and nuclear war, and that’s why, as leaders, we have a responsibility to act to take the steps to protect people, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
While attending the summit on Wednesday, Elon Musk said AI was “one of the biggest threats” humanity faces and said it was “not clear to me if we can control such a thing” when for the first time, humans faced “something that is going to be far more intelligent than us”.
Ms Donelan said the Government has a responsibility to manage the potential risks, but also said AI offered “humongous benefits”.
Speaking to GB News, she said: “We have convened countries across the globe, companies that are working in this space producing that cutting-edge AI and also academics, scientists, experts from all over the world to have a conversation and work out, ‘OK, what are the risks?’
“How can we work together in a long-term process so that we can really tackle this and get the benefits for humanity, not just here in the UK, but across the globe?”
She compared it to the international effort required to tackle climate change.
“We thought that actually what we need to do is work collaboratively with the rest of the world.
“I compare it to climate change – if we just do our own work in a silo, it won’t have the same impact.”
It comes after the first day of the summit saw delegations from around the world, including the US and China, agree on the so-called “Bletchley declaration” – a statement on the risks surrounding the technology to be used as the starting point for a global conversation on the issue.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister will host meetings with 27 countries, tech firms and civil society groups.
Ahead of those meetings, Mr Sunak said the world owes it to younger generations to grip the risks of AI “early enough”.
“I believe there will be nothing more transformative to the futures of our children and grandchildren than technological advances like AI,” he said.
“We owe it to them to ensure AI develops in a safe and responsible way, gripping the risks it poses early enough in the process.”
He added that the task of monitoring the risks posed by AI could not be left to tech firms alone.
He warned companies could not be left to “mark their own homework” in an interview with the BBC, against a backdrop of concerns about the technology’s potential capabilities.
