King Charles warned of the “existential dangers” if artificial intelligence (AI) systems end up in the wrong hands as he addressed tech industry leaders at a summit focusing on the future of the sector.
It was the King’s first appearance after bombshell claims emerged about him in a book penned by the late Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer.
In the memoir, Earl Spencer claimed that Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” days after Diana’s death in a car crash in 1997.
The remark was allegedly made during a heated phone argument over whether Charles and Diana’s sons Prince William and Prince Harry should walk in the funeral procession.
Buckingham Palace hit back at the allegation, saying that the King believes that “grief can cloud reason”.
Charles told an audience comprising bosses from Anthropic, Nvidia, OpenAI and Google DeepMind that choices made today regarding the technology will “shape the world inherited by future generations”, urging them to guarantee that as they develop the technology, “our humanity remains sacred”.
The gathering at Dumfries House in Cumnock, East Ayrshire, was also attended by guests including government advisors, the UK’s AI minister, and the chief advisor to the Vatican on the ethics of AI and technology, alongside various other attendees.
Giving his opening address, Charles told the audience the development of AI is “both intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure”.
He said: “AI is already showing its immense capacity to improve and save life – for example, in the field of life sciences and medicine.
“Yet, those who have created these technologies are now increasingly warning that AI risks developing darker capacities – perhaps even to take life.
“In this regard, if I may say so, there seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways.
“Surely, we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late?”
He added: “The decisions taken at this formative time will shape the world inherited by future generations.
“And so, the task before you is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world.
“As we embrace what is new, we must not lose what is timeless.”
Doomsday warnings have been levelled at AI, seen by some as a threat to the existence of humanity, sparking a debate among industry leaders over how best to rein in the technology before it could escape human control.
On Thursday, the chief executive of Microsoft AI said “we’re essentially seeding a new silicon species” and suggested competitors Anthropic were paving the way.
Mustafa Suleyman told the BBC’s Today programme: “I think that if we all create AIs that are able to act autonomously, that can define their own objectives, that can earn money, that can own assets, that could run businesses, we’re essentially seeding a new silicon species which will no doubt compete with us for resources – no matter how much it cares about humanity and loves us.
“Which is, I think, Anthropic’s intention. I think that is mistaken and misguided but we have to empirically test it.
“And so if they believe that this is a safer route to developing AIs then they have to share the data to prove that, and I think instead we should be creating AIs that don’t introspect.”
Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger sparked headlines around the world when he warned last week he believed there was a greater than 10 per cent chance that AI could pose a species-ending risk within 10 years.
