The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister is set to hold a gathering featuring Elon Musk, the owner of X, subsequent to the forthcoming AI summit in the country. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, disclosed via his X account on Monday that he is scheduled for a discussion with the magnate of Tesla and SpaceX on Thursday. Musk’s involvement in the summit, either virtually or physically, is yet to be determined.
This revelation emerged on the same day that the worth of X plummeted to a low of $19bn (£15.6bn), as stated in the firm’s internal documents. This is a significant decline from the $44bn (£36.2bn) that Musk paid to acquire the platform, then known as Twitter, in the previous year.
The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, is also on the list of attendees for the summit. During her visit to the UK, she is slated to engage in discussions concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict with Rishi Sunak. In addition, the duo is planning to deliberate on the next steps regarding support for Ukraine, as per an official from the White House.
Harris’s attendance at the AI summit implies that President Joe Biden will not be present. Despite the absence of international counterparts such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Downing Street has denied any feelings of snub from Mr. Sunak.
The UK government did not provide an updated list of guests on Monday, but a spokesperson expressed confidence in the assembly of world experts in the AI space, leading businesses, and world leaders who can address this critical issue. The invite to China has reportedly been escalated to include President Xi Jinping.
Upon arrival in the UK on Tuesday, Harris and her husband will venture to Winfield House in London. She is set to deliver a substantial policy speech on the US’s vision for AI at the US embassy on Wednesday, before proceeding to Downing Street for a meeting with Mr. Sunak.
On Thursday, Harris will travel to Milton Keynes to participate in the AI summit, set to occur at Bletchley Park. The site is renowned as the secret working location of British codebreakers who utilised early computer technology during the Second World War. Harris is then expected to depart the UK later in the day to return to the US.
Earlier today, President Biden sanctioned an executive order intended to steer the development of AI. This order necessitates that companies working on potentially hazardous models share safety data with the government prior to their release, among other directives.
