New AI Safety Institute launched in global first

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has launched a new AI Safety Institute, the first such organisation in the world, that will address harmful capabilities of this emerging technology.

The organisation is the evolution of the government’s Frontier AI Taskforce and will be advised by industry heavyweights from fields ranging from national security to computer science.

The AI Safety Institute is tasked with testing new types of frontier AI before and after they are released. The organisation will seek to address potentially harmful capabilities of AI models, exploring risks such social harms, biases and potential for misinformation to be spread. The institute will also work closely with the Alan Turing Institute for data science and AI.

The UK has also agreed two partnerships with other leading nations in advancing this technology – the US and Singapore – to collaborate on AI safety testing.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“Our AI Safety Institute will act as a global hub on AI safety, leading on vital research into the capabilities and risks of this fast-moving technology.

“It is fantastic to see such support from global partners and the AI companies themselves to work together so we can ensure AI develops safely for the benefit of all our people. This is the right approach for the long-term interests of the UK.”

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Michelle Donelan said:

“The AI Safety Institute will be an international standard bearer. With the backing of leading AI nations, it will help policymakers across the globe in gripping the risks posed by the most advanced AI capabilities, so that we can maximise the enormous benefits.“

The AI Safety Institute was launched on 2nd November at a summit on AI, taking place at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire and attended by world leaders and representatives of leading tech companies.

World leaders and major AI companies have today expressed their support for the Institute, which will further strengthen the UK’s role within the global AI ecosystem, and help support international collaboration and safe development of this technology.