The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence security, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.
US Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo and UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Washington DC to collaborate on the development of advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in November.
“We all know that AI is the defining technology of our generation,” says Raimondo. “This partnership will accelerate the work of both our institutions across the full spectrum to address the risks of our national security challenges and the concerns of our broader society.”
Under the formal partnership, Britain and the United States plan to conduct at least one joint test on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring staff exchanges between the institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to advance AI safety.
“This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world,” Donelan said. “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society and has enormous potential to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, but only if we are able to manage those risks.”
Generative AI – which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended questions – has sparked excitement and fear since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022 that it could make some jobs redundant, disrupt elections and overpower people .
Both countries plan to share key information on the opportunities and risks associated with AI models and systems and technical research on AI safety and security.
In October, Joe Biden signed an executive order that aims to reduce the risks of AI. In January, the Commerce Department said it was proposing to require U.S. cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities have access to U.S. data centers to train AI models.
Britain said in February it would spend more than £100 million ($125.5 million) to launch nine new research centers and train AI regulators on the technology.