The UK and South Korea are preparing for the next global AI safety summit in Seoul next month, following on from the Bletchley Park summit in Buckinghamshire last year.

The AI Seoul Summit is set to take place on 21 and 22 May 2024, with participation from international governments, AI companies, academia, and civil society.

Discussions will take place on AI safety, addressing the capabilities of advanced AI models, and building on the Bletchley Declaration and wider agreements for tackling AI risks, the UK government announced.

The government also said there will be talks on how the technology can be made more inclusive, helping to ensure the benefits of AI are shared equally, and how attendees can further advance AI innovation.

Day one of the AI Seoul Summit is going to see a virtual leaders’ session co-chaired by prime minister Rishi Sunak and Republic of Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol. A “select” number of global industry leaders are set to be invited, to update on how they’re fulfilling the commitments made at Bletchley Park to ensure their models’ safety.

This will come ahead of an in-person meeting of digital ministers on the second day, which will be co-hosted by UK technology secretary Michelle Donelan, and South Korean minister of science and ICT, Lee Jong-Ho.

Speaking on the Bletchley Park summit and next month’s event in Seoul, Donelan said: “The summit we held at Bletchley Park in November was a generational moment. We agreed the historic Bletchley Declaration and have ensured discussions around AI safely are firmly on the international agenda.

“If we continue to bring international governments and a broad range of voices together, I have every confidence that we can continue to develop a global approach which will allow us to realise the transformative potential of this generation-defining technology safely and responsibly.

“I am looking forward to building on the ‘Bletchley effect’ with this next round of talks in the Republic of Korea, who are perfectly placed with their rich history of technological innovation to advance the global conversation on AI safety.”

Minister Lee Jong-Ho further commented: “The AI Safety Summit held in Bletchley, UK last year marked a milestone in which the government, industry and academia coming together to address the potential risks of AI, and I am pleased that the Republic of Korea takes the baton from the UK.

“AI is advancing at an unprecedented pace that exceeds our expectations, and it is crucial to establish global norms and governance to harness such technological innovations to enhance the welfare of humanity.

“We hope that the AI Seoul Summit will serve as an opportunity to strengthen global cooperation on not only AI safety but also AI innovation and inclusion, and promote sustainable AI development.”

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The AI Seoul Summit will be accompanied by the release of the first iteration of the International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety—a commitment from the Bletchley Park summit which is being led by Turing Prize winner Yoshua Bengio, bringing together global scientific research on AI safety.

The international expert review panel for the report includes representatives from the UK, the Republic of Korea, and other countries.

The UK government said that it will continue to work closely with international governments, AI companies, and civil society to ensure people from across the globe can “safely realise the transformative benefits of AI to unlock new opportunities, transform productivity and public services, and power economic growth.”