King Charles Warns Tech Giants Of “Existential Dangers” From AI Misuse

King Charles III has warned tech giants of the “existential dangers” posed by artificial intelligence falling into the wrong hands, speaking at a conference in Scotland on Thursday that brought together senior representatives from Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic and Britain’s AI minister at Dumfries House. He said there was urgency in considering the risks of such technologies being used in “potentially catastrophic ways,” calling on tech leaders to ensure AI “remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world.”

Attendees included DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, Vatican AI adviser Paolo Benanti and historian Yuval Noah Harari. Buckingham Palace said the conference marks the start of a process to draw up common AI principles, though no formal agreement was expected from the four-to-five-hour meeting. The king urged participants to prioritise safety and build international cooperation so “no nation is left behind.”

Hassabis said the chance of accidental harm from AI is “non-zero,” citing recent cyber incidents involving rogue AI agents and warning of more serious risks including biological and nuclear threats, while Nvidia’s Huang emphasised AI’s benefits in research, medicine and job creation, calling for “responsible optimism.” The conference follows a Saturday call by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for a coordinated slowdown in AI development, backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk, though US President Donald Trump and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have both resisted calls to constrain the sector’s growth.