Kamala Harris arrives in the UK ahead of AI safety summit
31 October 2023, 22:34
Ms Harris will represent the US at the summit on Wednesday and Thursday in place of President Joe Biden.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has arrived in the UK ahead of attending Rishi Sunak’s summit focused on the safe use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Ms Harris touched down at Stansted Airport on Tuesday evening with her husband Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff for the summit.
She will represent the US at Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes, on Wednesday and Thursday in place of President Joe Biden.
French President Emmanuel Macron will also not be in attendance, whilst Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are also believed to be unlikely to show up.
But Downing Street denied on Monday that the summit was being snubbed by world leaders.
Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of the social media site X, will attend and join Mr Sunak for a live interview after the summit closes.
The Prime Minister hopes the summit on AI safety will cement the UK’s status as a leading world player in the cutting-edge technology.
Mr Sunak also said last week that mitigating the risk of extinction because of AI should be a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war.
It comes as Mr Biden signed an executive order on AI on Monday, and said the technology was driving change at “warp speed” and carries tremendous potential as well as perils.
The order seeks to steer how AI is developed so that companies can profit without putting public safety in jeopardy.
Using the Defence Production Act, it requires leading AI developers to share safety test results and other information with the government.
