British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was yesterday to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House, armed with reminders of UK ambitions on artificial intelligence (AI) and Ukraine — as well as a reminder of Biden’s British roots.
While intensely proud of his Irish-US heritage, Biden acknowledges forebears from England — including 19th-century sailor Christopher Biden, who was his great-great-grandfather.
Sunak was to present a copy of Christopher Biden’s book, Naval Discipline: Subordination Contrasted with Insubordination — which the president, visiting Ireland in April, described as the British Royal Navy’s guide to combating mutiny, Sunak’s spokesman said.
Photo: Bloomberg
In the Oval Office, Sunak was to gift to Joe Biden a personalized Barbour jacket made near his northern English constituency, embroidered with the words: “Mr President” on a front pocket.
This follows a tradition of summit gift-giving by US and UK leaders — although Downing Street would likely be hoping that this time plays better than when former US president Barack Obama received former British prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009.
Brown brought an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of a Victorian anti-slave ship. In return, Obama gave a bag of DVDs — which were encoded to play only on North American machines.
Sunak is staying at Blair House, the presidential guest residence near the White House, and is scheduled to give a joint news conference with Joe Biden — VIP treatment that few visiting dignitaries get.
Sunak has trimmed British sails to align with US policy winds on challenges including China, while touting a post-Brexit leadership role on AI.
He plans to host the world’s first AI summit in the autumn, vowing to craft a coordinated approach to harness its potential in areas such as medicine while averting doomsday scenarios of sentient computers wiping out humanity.
“Time and time again throughout history we have invented paradigm-shifting new technologies, and we have harnessed them for the good of humanity,” Sunak said ahead of the White House summit.
“That is what we must do again,” he said.
Yet there are already headwinds for the UK’s putative role in AI regulation, given that the US and the EU have already begun their own dialogue on a code of conduct.
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