US and UK announce partnership on AI safety and testing

The US and UK announced a new partnership on science on Monday. Artificial intelligence Safety, amid growing concerns about the upcoming next-generation version.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and British Technology Secretary Michelle Donnell jointly signed a memorandum of understanding for innovation in Washington. A.I Model testing follows commitments announced at the AI ​​Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in November.

“We all know that AI is the defining technology of our generation,” Raimondo said. “This partnership will accelerate the work of our two institutions to address our national security concerns and the concerns of our broader society.”

The UK and US are among the countries setting up government-led AI security agencies.

The UK said in October that its agency would investigate and test new types of AI, while the US said in November that it was launching its own security agency to assess threats from so-called frontier AI models. And now working with 200 companies and institutions.

Under the formal partnership, the UK and US plan to conduct at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring staff exchanges between the institutions. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety.

Donelan said this is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world. “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society, and has vast potential to address some of the world’s greatest challenges, but only if we can grasp those risks.”

Generative AI — which can create text, images and videos in response to open-ended cues — has sparked excitement as well as fears that it could make some jobs obsolete, disrupt elections and potentially Can overcome humans and destructive effects.

In a joint interview with Reuters on Monday, Raimondo and Donelan called for urgent joint action to combat AI threats.

“Timing is of the essence because the next set of models is about to be released, which will be much more capable,” Donnellan said. “Our focus is in the areas that we’re dividing and conquering and really mastering.”

Raimondo said she would raise AI issues at the US meeting.European Union Trade and Technology Council in Belgium on Thursday.

The Biden administration plans to announce additions to its AI team soon, Raimondo said. “We are drawing on the full resources of the US government.”

The two countries plan to share key information about capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems, and technical research related to AI safety and security.

In October, Biden signed an executive order aimed at mitigating AI threats. In January, the Commerce Department said it was proposing to ask U.S. cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing U.S. data centers to train AI models.

The UK said in February it would spend GBP 100 million ($125.5 million or about Rs 1,047 crore) to launch nine new research hubs on the technology and AI train regulators.

Raimondo said he is particularly concerned about the threat of AI applied to bioterrorism or nuclear war simulations.

“These are things that can have catastrophic consequences and so we really have zero tolerance for using some of these models to that caliber,” he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

---