UK’s Sunak says governments, not companies, should assess AI risks

LONDON (Reuters): British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday only governments, rather than tech companies, could properly assess the risk to national security stemming from artificial intelligence.

“We shouldn’t rely on them (companies developing AI) marking their own homework … Only governments can properly assess the risk to national security,” Sunak said in a speech in London.

“The UK’s answer is not to rush to regulate … We’re building world leading capability to understand and evaluate the safety of AI models within government.”

Sunak said a report commissioned by his government suggested there was a possibility humanity could lose control of artificial intelligence in extreme cases.