Sunak Pitches UK Leadership On AI On Washington Visit
Faizan Hashmi Published June 07, 2023 | 11:16 PM
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed Wednesday for a leading UK role in regulating the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence, on a visit to Washington where he is also highlighting unstinting support on Ukraine
Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jun, 2023 ) :British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed Wednesday for a leading UK role in regulating the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence, on a visit to Washington where he is also highlighting unstinting support on Ukraine.
Sunak will meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday as the young Conservative leader mounts an often uphill battle to show the UK's post-Brexit relevance.
The prime minister wants a future global AI regulator to be based in London, according to sources, arguing that Britain has the requisite expertise and tech sector.
"The UK is well placed to play a leadership role. Outside of the US, we are probably the leading AI nation amongst democratic countries. We have an ability to get regulation right to protect our citizens," he told TalkTV.
Sunak rejected suggestions that Britain had a hard sell after its divorce from the European Union, which just last week held its own dialogue with the United States on an AI code of conduct.
He pointed to the presence of AI companies in Britain and said that he had been at the forefront of addressing the technology's challenges since his time as chancellor of the exchequer, the UK's finance minister.
"I saw that this was coming and I want to make sure that we are well placed as a country to both benefit from it, but also to be protected against its harms," he told TalkTV.
Downing Street task force advisor Matt Clifford warned that chances of the fast-learning systems wiping out humanity within two years were "not zero." Interviewed on TalkTV, he said the world needed "to regulate them on a global scale, because it's not enough, I think, to regulate them nationally." - 'Ultimate sacrifice' - Sunak opened his two-day US visit by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington.
"In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might live free. We will remember them," said a hand-written message from Sunak on the wreath.
Soldiers fired a 19-gun salute and played the US and UK anthems, as dozens of US armed forces personnel dressed in ceremonial uniforms formed an honor guard.
The Ukraine war is expected to dominate his conversations with Biden, with Britain joining the United States in championing robust military support to Kyiv.
The visit comes as Russia and Ukraine trade accusations over who blew up the large Kakhovka dam, triggering devastating floods.
Any intentional targeting of the dam would represent "the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the war, and just would demonstrate the new lows that we would have seen from Russian aggression," Sunak told reporters aboard his plane from London.
The United States and Britain have not yet identified a culprit.
But in an interview with ITV news, Sunak said that Russia had pursued a "deliberate strategy to target civilian infrastructure." "It is wrong, it's barbaric, and it's appalling. That's why we're providing such strong support to them and will continue to do so," he said of the Ukrainians.
Sunak has also been talking up British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace as a candidate to lead NATO before the Western military alliance holds a summit next month in Lithuania, with the prime ministers of Denmark and Estonia also seen as contenders.
- Keeping hopes on business - Sunak will also meet US business leaders but he has given up on securing a post-Brexit trade deal anytime soon with the Biden administration, which has shown limited enthusiasm.
Sunak pointed to the US-UK military alliance as he made a case for the economic relationship.
"Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a crucial edge in the decades ahead," said Sunak, a wealthy former banker who studied in the United States and retains a property in California.
En route to Washington, Sunak announced cumulative US investment of more than �14 billion ($17 billion) into Britain -- though that figure includes some that has already been deployed.
The prime minister is pushing for US relief to UK carmakers, via greater access to critical minerals used in batteries, after Biden's Inflation Reduction Act offered vast subsidies to companies with US operations.
Sunak was due later to watch the Washington Nationals baseball team play the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second annual "UK-US Friendship Day," marking 238 years of diplomatic relations.
But the keen cricketer ducked the opportunity to throw the ceremonial first pitch -- sparing his blushes if the throw goes astray in front of thousands.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
Nasreen Noori’s book ‘Popatan Jahra Khwab’ launched
Wafaqi Mohtasib inspection team visits Excise and taxation office
AJLAC announces 5th Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil ..
Pak-US officials engage to enhance trade, investment ties
IBCC to promote educational excellence, expand regional presence
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leav ..
Putin says plans to visit China in May
More Stories From World
-
Bagnaia and Spanish rivals chase victory at Jerez
36 minutes ago -
Russian, Ukrainian strikes kill at least 10 in frontline regions
46 minutes ago -
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
59 minutes ago -
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
60 minutes ago -
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leave after 20 years of ..
2 hours ago -
Putin says plans to visit China in May
2 hours ago
-
US reinstates open internet rules rescinded under Trump
2 hours ago -
Honda announces US$11 bn EV battery and vehicle plant in Canada
2 hours ago -
Portugal marks 50 years of democracy with far right on the rise
2 hours ago -
Oman, UAE deluge 'most likely' linked to climate change: scientists
3 hours ago -
BHP launches $38.8 billion takeover bid for rival Anglo American
3 hours ago -
Saudi oil giant Aramco agrees major FIFA sponsorship deal
3 hours ago