Context

The United States and Britain announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.

What is the partnership on AI safety, testing?

• Objective: to jointly develop advanced AI model testing.
• This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world.
• Under the formal partnership, Britain and the United States plan to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring personnel exchanges between the institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety.
• Both countries will share vital information about the capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems, according to the agreement, which has taken effect immediately.
• They will also share fundamental technical research on AI safety and security with each other, and work on aligning their approach towards safely deploying AI systems.

1: Dimension- Need of the Initiative

• The move comes as the world is figuring out a way to set guardrails around the fast proliferation of AI systems.
• Although these systems offer opportunities, they pose a significant threat to a number of societal set-ups, from misinformation to election integrity.

2: Dimension- AI Regulation around the world

• As the private industry innovates rapidly, lawmakers around the world are grappling with setting legislative guardrails around AI to curb some of its downsides.
• India: The IT Ministry issued an advisory to generative AI companies deploying “untested” systems in India to seek the government’s permission before doing so.
  • However, after the government’s move was criticised by people from across the world, the government scrapped the advisory and issued a new one which had dropped the mention of seeking government approval.
• EU: Last year, the EU reached a deal with member states on its AI Act which includes safeguards on the use of AI within the EU, including clear guardrails on its adoption by law enforcement agencies.