TechScape: Why Sunak’s ‘vanity jamboree’ on AI safety was actually … a success

Against the odds, world leaders agreed on a landmark declaration to bring stronger oversight to AI. Plus, Sam Bankman-Fried's very bad week

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For Max Tegmark, last week's artificial intelligence summit at Bletchley Park was an emotional moment. The MIT professor and AI researcher was behind a letter this year calling for a pause in development of advanced systems. It didn't happen, but it was a crucial contribution to the political and academic momentum that resulted in the Bletchley gathering.

[The summit] has actually made me more optimistic. It really has superseded my expectations," he told me. I've been working for about 10 years, hoping that one day there would be an international summit on AI safety. Seeing it happen with my own eyes - and done so surprisingly well - was very moving."

Five takeaways from the summit.

Sister newsletter First Edition runs through what we learned about the dangers of AI.

The great powers signed up to Sunak's meetup - while jostling for position.

Zoe Williams is very good on the problem with tech bro philanthropy.

It's not AI but the tech giants that control it that need reining in, writes John Naughton.

AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li: I'm more concerned about the risks that are here and now."

Sunak's summit trades in Silicon Valley celebrity and lays bare the UK's Brexit dilemmas, argues Rafael Behr.