King Charles to urge AI chiefs to use the technology 'for good of humanity'

King Charles will this week ask leaders of the world’s most powerful AI firms to use the technology “for the good of humanity”.

Charles is due to host a summit with the leaders from Anthropic , Nvidia, Google DeepMind and Open AI at Dumfries House, Scotland, where he will encourage them to reach a consensus on a “shared set of principles”.

The importance of his plea was underlined when the boss of the AI giant Anthropic called for development of the technology to be slowed.

In an open letter, Dario Amodei said AI had been “advancing drastically faster” since the summer and could be capable of taking over the “entire internet” and “potentially causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage” in the next six to 12 months.

Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic with his sister Daniela in 2021, said: “Left unchecked, it could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all.”

Charles, 77, who has never owned a mobile phone, is understood to have taken a keen interest in AI’s development and the risks it posed.

A source said he hopes the summit would encourage tech leaders to consider “the responsibilities of developing this technology, as well as the opportunities”.

It is understood delegates at the summit will include Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder and chief executive; Sir Demis Hassabis, the founder and chairman of Google DeepMind; Niccolo de Masi, the chair and chief executive of IonQ; and Paolo Benanti, an adviser to the Vatican on AI.

A royal source told the Sunday Times: “The King is there to convene, listen and encourage those discussions and to pose the question of: ‘How do we develop AI for the good of humanity?’

“As we've seen him do on issues like the environment and water scarcity, he is hoping to provide a neutral space to aid conversations that are part of a national and global issue on something that is going to impact all of us.

“He hopes the discussions bring about a wider understanding of the responsibilities of developing this technology, as well as the opportunities, ensuring any technological development remains centred around human benefit for communities.

“He wants to ask the question: ‘Would it be helpful to have a set of principles?’ His feeling is it is not an easy thing to do, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.”

Charles's opening remarks are expected to “encourage collaborative, open discussion from all, and pose the question of whether guiding principles could help positive progress in this pace, on a topic that will in some way impact us all”.

The King's aides have consulted the government on the summit, which will be attended by Kanishka Narayan, the AI minister.