‘Terminator-style’ loss of control is biggest AI risk, Technology Secretary says

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. 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. “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.” Mr Sunak held a flurry a bilateral meetings with United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after arriving in Bletchley. “I wanted us to have a session to talk about this issue as leaders with shared values in private and hear from all of you about what you’re most excited about, what you’re concerned about and how we can look back in five years’ time on this moment and know that we made the right choices to harness all the benefits of AI in a way that will be safe for our communities but deliver enormous potential as well.” While attending the gathering on Wednesday, Elon Musk said AI was “one of the biggest threats” humanity faces and that 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”. 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.