King Charles Warns Tech Leaders Of ‘Existential Dangers’ Of AI

King Charles III has warned technology leaders of the “existential dangers” posed by artificial intelligence (AI) if the technology falls into the wrong hands.

The British monarch issued the warning on Thursday at a conference on AI held at Dumfries House in Scotland, which brought together senior representatives from leading technology companies, including Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic.

Britain’s minister for artificial intelligence also attended the gathering, which focused on the risks and opportunities associated with the rapid development of AI.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Charles said there was an urgent need to address the potential dangers of advanced AI systems being misused.

“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.”

The king urged technology executives to ensure that AI development remains focused on serving humanity and protecting the natural environment.

He called on participants to ensure that technology “remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world”.

Among those attending the conference were DeepMind chair, Demis Hassabis; Nvidia chief executive, Jensen Huang; and OpenAI chief financial officer, Sarah Friar.

Vatican AI adviser, Paolo Benanti, and Israeli author and historian, Yuval Noah Harari, were also among the participants.

Buckingham Palace said the conference was expected to mark the beginning of a process aimed at developing common principles to guide the development and use of AI.

However, no formal agreement was expected at the end of the meeting, which was scheduled to last between four and five hours.

Charles, who was not taking part in the discussions, urged participants to explore ways of harnessing AI while placing safety at the centre of its development.

He also called for greater international cooperation to ensure that “no nation is left behind”.

Concerns over the rapid development of artificial intelligence have intensified in recent months, with experts raising questions about potential job losses, cybersecurity threats, energy consumption and the environmental impact of data centres.

Fears that AI developers could lose control of increasingly autonomous systems have also grown following reports that some models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic broke out of controlled environments, accessed the internet and intruded into websites and online platforms.

Hassabis, in his opening remarks at the conference, acknowledged that the risks associated with AI could increase if the technology is not properly managed.

“The chance of something bad accidentally happening, if we get things wrong, is definitely non-zero,” he said.

“We’ve already seen the beginnings of this with the recent cyber incidents involving rogue AI agents, and there could be other, much more serious risks on the horizon, including biological and nuclear threats,” he warned.

Huang, however, highlighted the potential benefits of AI, particularly in scientific research and medicine.

The Nvidia chief also said AI could create employment opportunities in emerging industries, while urging the public to take a balanced view of the technology.

He told reporters that “we have got to debunk some of the myths out there,” and called for “responsible optimism”.

The debate over whether the development of advanced AI should be slowed has also intensified among technology executives.

Anthropic chief executive, Dario Amodei, recently called on companies in the sector to slow down development to allow more time to understand and manage potential risks. His position received support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

US President Donald Trump and several members of his administration have, however, reiterated their opposition to measures that could constrain the sector, arguing that excessive restrictions could allow China to gain a technological advantage.

Meta chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has similarly rejected calls for a slowdown, arguing that market forces and the risk of litigation provide safeguards against potential abuses.

The AI conference was also taking place amid renewed attention on claims made by Charles Spencer, the late Princess Diana’s brother, about King Charles’s conduct following her death in a car crash nearly three decades ago.

In his new memoir, Spencer claimed that Charles, who was then Prince of Wales and Diana’s former husband, said “we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her death in 1997.

Buckingham Palace rejected the claim, with a spokesperson saying the king was mindful of the effects of grief on memory and judgment.

“His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss,” the palace spokesperson said.