LONDON — King Charles has invited leading figures from the artificial intelligence industry to an exclusive event set to take place this month, according to two people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity because it has yet to be publicly announced. The event is scheduled to be held in Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland — the headquarters of The King’s Foundation, a charity founded by Charles in 1990 to advocate on environmental and social issues, the two people said. According to one of the people, the exclusive gathering's guest list is set to include Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, British founder of Google DeepMind Demis Hassabis and Paolo Benanti, an adviser to the Vatican on AI.
That person said around 30 high-profile people from the AI industry were invited to attend in total. A Royal official told POLITICO: “One of the king’s unique abilities as sovereign and global statesmen is his ability to convene top level stakeholders.” The official stressed King Charles would not issue his own thoughts, but wants to “convene, engage, listen and encourage debate” on one of the biggest issues of the age. The event is being organized by the Ditchley Foundation — a charity which organizes discussions on global issues, and ministers will also be invited.
Benanti declined to comment. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Google DeepMind said they could not comment on Hassabis’ movements.
Hassabis, who is now chair of DeepMind, in July called for the creation of a U.S.-based global standards organization for AI. King Charles has also shown an interest in the development and regulation of AI. The king met Nvidia’s Huang and tech executives from Apple, Amazon and Google during a state visit to Washington in April, where he highlighted collaboration on AI between the U.S. and U.K.
He also hosted a banquet at Windsor Castle during President Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. last September which was attended by tech industry leaders including Huang and OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman. Trump’s visit coincided with the announcement of significant investment in the U.K. by U.S. tech firms and the signing of a U.S.-U.K. Tech Prosperity Deal, which was later suspended over trade disagreements.
In November, Huang and other pioneers in AI received an award from King Charles, and the Nvidia chief executive said the king gifted him a copy of an address he made at the AI Safety Summit which said: “If we are to realize the untold benefits of AI, then we must work together in combatting its significant risks.” This story has been updated to include a quote from a Royal official.
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