British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was hoping his AI summit next month would bring heads of the most powerful nations face-to-face with executives to guard against the technology’s “catastrophic” potential. With less than two weeks to go, the guest list is thin on world leaders.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join US President Joe Biden in skipping the November 1-2 gathering at Bletchley Park, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because plans aren’t finalized. With French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida yet to decide that makes Italian premier Giorgia Meloni the sole Group of Seven leader other than the host to sign up so far.
Although there’s still time for late entry, a lack of top state leaders dents the profile of the event as Britain works to forge an international approach to artificial intelligence. Sunak is trying to position the UK at the forefront of development and regulation of a technology that he’s said could be “paradigmshifting” while at the same time posing risks that require “guardrails.”