Britain’s King Charles III has warned technology executives about the potential “existential dangers” of artificial intelligence, urging the industry to establish adequate safeguards before increasingly powerful systems become difficult to control.
The King issued the warning on Thursday while addressing senior executives from major artificial intelligence companies, including Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic.
Charles said some of the scientists and technology leaders responsible for developing AI were increasingly raising concerns about the possibility of the technology acquiring dangerous capabilities.
“Those who have created these technologies are now increasingly warning that AI risks developing darker capacities,” he said, including the possibility that advanced systems could eventually be capable of taking human life.
The King urged technology leaders to consider the consequences of advanced AI falling into the wrong hands and being used in ways that could cause catastrophic harm.
He said the responsibility of the industry extended beyond technological progress to ensuring that AI remained beneficial to society.
“The task before you is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world,” Charles said.
His comments come amid intensifying debate among technology companies, researchers and governments over the potential risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems.
The concerns range from misuse of AI for cyberattacks and disinformation to the longer-term possibility of highly autonomous systems operating beyond effective human oversight.
The warning also comes as leading AI companies accelerate development of systems capable of reasoning, using digital tools and carrying out increasingly complex tasks with limited human intervention.
Charles’ intervention adds a high-profile voice to calls for stronger safeguards as governments and technology companies attempt to balance the potential benefits of AI with concerns over its misuse and long-term risks.
