India, EU, and 27 Other Nations Pledge to Address AI Risks; first international declaration

Representatives from nearly 28 countries, including India, and the European Union signed the “Bletchley Park Declaration” during a meeting in the United Kingdom, demonstrating their commitment to collaboratively address the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

The participating nations included Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union.

The declaration, titled “The Bletchley Declaration,” issued a stern warning regarding the potential threats posed by highly advanced “frontier” artificial intelligence systems. It underscored the need for AI to be designed, developed, and utilized in a safe, human-centric, trustworthy, and responsible manner for the benefit of all.

According to the official page for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), leading AI nations have reached a world-first agreement on AI safety. “The Bletchley Park Declaration sees 28 countries agree on opportunities, risks, and the need for international action on frontier AI systems that pose the most urgent and dangerous risks,” he expressed.

The declaration acknowledged the profound global opportunities and transformative potential of AI across various aspects of daily life, including housing, employment, transport, education, health, accessibility, justice, and more. It emphasized the importance of addressing AI safety, human rights, transparency, explainability, fairness, accountability, regulation, safety, human oversight, ethics, bias mitigation, privacy, and data protection.

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, speaking at the AI Safety Summit 2023 in the UK, highlighted India’s approach to AI, which prioritizes openness, safety, trust, and accountability. He underscored the significance of international collaboration in navigating the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies like AI. ” The minister emphasized that India sees AI as “the next big opportunity. “We are extremely clear in our minds on the mitigation of what AI and indeed any emerging technology can and will represent—a prism of openness, safety, trust, and accountability,” he added.

The historic summit at Bletchley Park, attended by prominent figures like tech billionaire Elon Musk, sought to foster a shared understanding of AI-related risks and initiate global efforts to mitigate these risks. According to ANI, this collaborative effort demonstrates the growing recognition of AI’s impact on society and the need for responsible development and governance.