King Charles III at Windsor Castle in July 2023. Cropped from a White House photograph. Credit: The White House / public domain via Wikimedia Commons (cropped) King Charles will host a meeting at Dumfries House, his Ayrshire estate and the home of the King’s Foundation, having invited executives from Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The event is being run by the Ditchley Foundation, the King’s Trust, the King’s Foundation and the Sustainable Markets Initiative.
Politico had reported last week that around 30 people from the industry would take part in the private meeting, which has no public agenda. The King plans to tell AI executives on Thursday that the technology should remain “firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world,” according to Reuters, which cited parts of his opening speech shared by Buckingham Palace. “The decisions taken at this formative time will shape the world inherited by future generations,” the King will say in his opening speech. “The task before you is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world.” He will describe AI’s development as “intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure,” according to Hello!. The King will also tell the audience that people who care about humanity’s moral side “are anxiously seeking your reassurance that we will not lose control of our destiny.” As said, expected guests include Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar, UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan, and representatives from Anthropic. Paolo Benanti, an adviser to Pope Leo XIV who has urged governments to slow AI development, is also expected to attend.
The palace said the discussions would look at whether shared principles could guide how AI is used, “not just as a means of enhancing capability and efficiency, but as a tool which respects human dignity and helps to promote the well-being of both people and the planet.” A royal official explained that the King’s role is to bring people together and encourage dialogue, rather than to share his own opinions. The meeting comes as the industry debates how quickly it should move forward. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has asked companies to slow down their work on advanced AI. Two Anthropic researchers recently warned that the technology could even threaten human survival.
Some critics wonder whether these warnings are meant to help current leaders keep their edge, while Beijing has dismissed the concerns as an attempt to control technology. The King spoke about AI at the 2023 AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, saying its importance is comparable to “the discovery of electricity, the splitting of the atom, the creation of the World Wide Web, or even the harnessing of fire.” He has also discussed AI’s impact on the environment, which matches his well-known support for nature.
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