Delegates to the first international conference on the safe use of artificial intelligence have adopted a declaration calling for urgent risk management.

The AI Safety Summit opened outside London on Wednesday with about 100 senior government officials and business representatives taking part.

On the first day, delegates from 29 countries and regions, including Japan and the United States, adopted a declaration. It says, "Substantial risks may arise from potential intentional misuse or unintended issues of control relating to alignment with human intent."

The declaration also says the participants are "especially concerned by such risks in domains such as cybersecurity and biotechnology," where there is "potential for serious, even catastrophic harm," and called for urgent action to address them.

The British government invited China to the event.
China's Vice Minister of Science and Technology Wu Zhaohui said his country is willing to enhance communication in AI safety with all sides and contribute to an international governance framework.

The United States has been accusing China of using AI to spy on its own people.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was not at the summit venue on Wednesday. She delivered a speech at the US Embassy in London.

Harris said, "To define AI safety, I offer that we must consider and address the full spectrum of AI risk -- threats to humanity as a whole, as well as threats to individuals, communities, to our institutions, and to our most vulnerable populations." She also said, "We must manage all these dangers to make sure that AI is truly safe."

AI firms are expected to join the final-day discussions on Thursday on specific measures to ensure the safe use of the technology.

Elon Musk, who launched an AI firm in July and is taking part in the conference, said, "Here we are for the first time really in human history with something that's going to be far more intelligent than us." He added, "So it's not clear to me we can actually control such a thing, but I think we can aspire to guide it in a direction that's beneficial to humanity."