Even the king of England has his hesitations about AI

King Charles hosted a private summit on AI on Thursday. The guests included Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, leaders from OpenAI and Anthropic, and Britain’s new AI minister, Kanishka Narayan. The head of Britain’s foreign spy service and a man who advises the pope on AI also came. The king told the group to find a way to control AI “before it’s too late”. He said AI is already saving lives in medicine and science. But he warned that it risks building darker powers, perhaps even to take life.

Britain’s royal family usually stays out of political fights, so the king speaking up on AI stands out. The meeting was held at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, an estate owned by his charity. Days earlier, an Anthropic researcher quit and wrote online that AI companies are racing to build machines much smarter than any human. He said humanity “may not survive this”. Other researchers have warned about the same dangers, and the king said control is urgent.

AI is being built faster than the rules to control it. When a figure as big as the king speaks up, governments may act sooner.