24 September 2024

Examining the capabilities and risks of advanced AI systems

Chinasa T. Okolo

In November 2023, the United Kingdom hosted the first global AI Safety Summit, which convened a diverse coalition of world leaders, technologists, academics, and civil society groups to accelerate international action on the safe and responsible development of frontier AI. In addition to producing the Bletchley Declaration on AI safety, the Summit also commissioned a “State of the Science” report to help create international consensus on the present and potential future risks, opportunities, and capabilities of general-purpose AI. The interim version of this international collaboration was unveiled at the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024.

I contributed an analysis on current issues regarding the underrepresentation of non-Western languages and cultures in AI systems, which contributes to the growing AI divide and analyzed various aspects of bias in AI. Such contributions fit within the broader discussion on AI capabilities—assessing and understanding general-purpose AI, risks from such systems, and methods for mitigating such risks—and must be highly considered as global debates continue.

This report underscores the necessity for broader global cooperation in defining AI risks and developing robust mitigation solutions. As the U.K. government prepares for the final report to be published ahead of the AI Action Summit in France in February 2025, there is the need for a concerted effort to improve international cooperation in AI, particularly by including governments, researchers, and civil society advocates from the Global South. Equitable inclusion of diverse perspectives will be crucial to contend with the risks and harms from AI and democratize the benefits of these systems.

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