Britain expands AI Safety Institute to San Francisco amid scrutiny over regulatory shortcomings

LONDON — The British government is expanding its facility for testing "frontier" artificial intelligence models to the United States, in a bid to further its image as a top global player tackling the risks of the tech and to increase cooperation with the U.S. as governments around the world jostle for AI leadership.

The government on Monday announced it would open a U.S. counterpart to its AI Safety Summit, a state-backed body focused on testing advanced AI systems to ensure they're safe, in San Francisco this summer.

The U.S. iteration of the AI Safety Institute will aim to recruit a team of technical staff headed up by a research director. In London, the institute currently has a team of 30. It is chaired by Ian Hogarth, a prominent British tech entrepreneur who founded the music concert discovery site Songkick.

In a statement, U.K. Technology Minister Michelle Donelan said the AI Safety Summit's U.S. rollout "represents British leadership in AI in action."

"It is a pivotal moment in the U.K.'s ability to study both the risks and potential of AI from a global lens, strengthening our partnership with the U.S. and paving the way for other countries to tap into our expertise as we continue to lead the world on AI safety."

The expansion "will allow the U.K. to tap into the wealth of tech talent available in the Bay Area, engage with the world's largest AI labs headquartered in both London and San Francisco, and cement relationships with the United States to advance AI safety for the public interest," the government said.

San Francisco is the home of OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind viral AI chatbot ChatGPT.

The AI Safety Institute was established in November 2023 during the AI Safety Summit, a global event held at