It’s unclear at this time what access the U.K. will receive, but the reported commitment could be the first of its kind.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced that Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic — three tech outfits widely considered the global industry leaders in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies — have agreed to provide the United Kingdom with early access to their AI models.
Sunak made the announcement during a speech opening London Tech Week, an event described by organizers as “a global celebration of tech, uniting the most innovative thinkers and talent of tomorrow in a week-long festival.”
He made the comment while explaining a three-part plan to ensure AI systems in the U.K. are deployed in a safe and secure manner. The first step, per a transcript of the speech, is to perform cutting-edge safety research:
“We’re working with the frontier labs — Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic. And I’m pleased to announce they’ve committed to give early or priority access to models for research and safety purposes to help build better evaluations and help us better understand the opportunities and risks of these systems.”
The prime minister went on to explain that the second step of the U.K.’s plan is the recognition that AI as a technology doesn’t “respect traditional national borders,” thus necessitating the formation of a global task force.
Read More: Huh? UK To Get ‘Early Or Priority Access’ To AI Models From Google And OpenAI
