British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak touted the summit and his hopes that the U.K. could establish a global watchdog for the emerging technology during a visit to the White House in June. Harris’s attendance would help to elevate the meeting’s profile.
The vice president, who previously represented Silicon Valley as a senator from California, has played a central role in U.S. efforts to regulate the technology. The Biden administration is expected to issue an executive order establishing additional guardrails for AI companies in the coming weeks.
Harris’ remarks are likely to center around creating rules that ensure AI does not have harmful outcomes for workers and marginalized groups, which has been a focus of her office in recent months. In July, the vice president convened civil rights and labor leaders to discuss risks to displacing jobs and perpetuating bias.
A White House official declined to comment on the vice president’s travel.
The November summit, organized by the U.K. government, will include dozens of politicians, academics and technology experts, and will be held at Bletchley Park — where code breakers including Alan Turing operated during World War II.
About one hundred people are expected to attend the summit, according to Matt Clifford, a representative for Sunak on AI issues, who said the limited guest list is intended to encourage “substantive outcomes.” The vice president’s expected attendance was previously reported by Reuters.
Some advocates contend the technology removes biases, while others warn it could compound discrimination through the development of algorithms that are not inclusive. Several instances have been reported across the U.S. of police-deployed software misidentifying Black Americans’ likeness with suspects of crimes, leading to wrongful arrests.
The growth of AI has also fanned worry that software could replace jobs en masse. A 148-day strike by union television writers ended with an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to forbid studios from using artificial intelligence to write or re-write material. Their contract allowed its use only under mutually consensual terms between writers and studios.
Global leaders affirmed a commitment to regulate AI during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.
“We need to be sure they’re used as tools of opportunity, not as weapons of oppression,” Biden said during his remarks.
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