The UK’s King Charles warns AI leaders of ‘existential dangers’

British monarch highlights AI’s potential darker capacities, urging safety and humanity-focused development.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-09-17 17:29查看原文 ↗

British monarch highlights AI’s potential darker capacities, urging safety and humanity-focused development.

The UK's King Charles poses with attendees during a meeting for leaders from the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, Government, and thought leaders to discuss how AI can be developed and deployed in ways that benefit society, at Dumfries House in Cumnock, UK, September 17, 2026 [Jonathan Brady/Pool via Reuters]

The United Kingdom’s King Charles has warned Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry leaders of the “existential dangers” posed by the technology if it falls into the wrong hands.

The monarch’s comments on Thursday add to a global debate over whether, and how to regulate the industry.

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Charles hosted AI giants, including the cofounders of Nvidia and Google DeepMind, along with leaders from OpenAI and Anthropic at a summit at his Dumfries House estate in Scotland, to address safety concerns before it was “too late” to rein it in.

“There seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways,” Charles told guests at the opening of the conference.

“Those in our world who value our humanity and its vital moral component are anxiously seeking your reassurance that we will not lose control of our destiny,” he told the industry leaders.

“Those who have created these technologies are now increasingly warning that AI risks developing darker capacities, perhaps even to take life,” or be used in “potentially catastrophic ways”, the king also said.

In recent weeks, global figures have weighed in on whether the industry should regulate itself or allow governments to produce guidelines on how the rapidly evolving technology develops.

In May, Pope Leo XIV said ⁠”the world does not need an artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity” and must be “disarmed”.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about the technology as a “hoax”.

Last week, two Anthropic researchers warned that the rapidly advancing technology could lead to human extinction in the not-too-distant future.

Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei has also called for companies to slow the pace of AI development.

However, that has prompted an ⁠international debate about whether some executives were trying to get ahead of a possible government backlash and set the rules to keep the lead of particular companies.

“The development of AI – its substance and its pace – are both intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure,” the British monarch said.

He urged industry leaders to harness it “with safety at its heart” and “to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world”.

The summit in Scotland is not expected to produce any binding agreements.

英国君主强调人工智能可能存在的阴暗面，敦促以安全和人性为中心进行发展。

2026年9月17日，英国国王查尔斯在英国坎诺克邓弗里斯宫出席人工智能（AI）行业、政府和思想领袖会议，讨论如何以造福社会的方式开发和部署人工智能。[Jonathan Brady/Pool via Reuters]

英国国王查尔斯警告人工智能（AI）行业领袖，如果这项技术落入坏人之手，将会带来“生存危机”。

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查尔斯王子在苏格兰邓弗里斯庄园举办了一场峰会，邀请了包括英伟达和谷歌DeepMind的联合创始人，以及OpenAI和Anthropic的领导人，共同探讨人工智能领域的安全问题，以免为时过晚而无法控制。

查尔斯在会议开幕式上对来宾说：“我们似乎迫切需要充分考虑此类技术落入坏人之手，并以可能造成灾难性后果的方式使用所带来的生存危险。”

“我们这个世界上那些珍视人性及其重要道德成分的人们，正焦急地寻求你们的保证，确保我们不会失去对自身命运的掌控，”他告诉行业领袖们。

国王还表示，“那些创造这些技术的人现在越来越警告说，人工智能有可能发展出更黑暗的能力，甚至可能夺走生命”，或者被用于“可能造成灾难性后果的方式”。