LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - Britain's artificial

intelligence (AI) safety institute will open an office in the

United States, hoping to foster greater international

collaboration on the regulation of a fast-moving technology.

Government officials said the institute's new office in San

Francisco would open this summer, recruiting a team of technical

staff to complement the organisation's work in London and

strengthen ties with its U.S. counterpart.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Some experts have warned AI could pose an existential threat

to humanity comparable to nuclear weapons or climate change,

underscoring the need for greater international coordination on

the technology's regulation.

The institute's announcement comes days before the second

global AI safety summit, to be co-hosted by the British and

South Korean governments in Seoul this week.

CONTEXT

Shortly after Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed OpenAI released

ChatGPT to the public in November 2022, thousands of concerned

onlookers - including Tesla mogul Elon Musk - signed an open

letter calling for a six-month pause in their development,

warning they posed unpredictable threats.

A year later, the first AI safety summit was held at

Britain's Bletchley Park, where world leaders and high-ranking

business executives - including U.S. Vice President Kamala

Harris and OpenAI's Sam Altman - joined academics to discuss how

best to regulate AI.

Tech leaders exchanged views with some of their sharpest

critics, while China co-signed the "Bletchley Declaration"

alongside the US and others, signalling a willingness to work

together despite mounting tensions with the West.

KEY QUOTE

Britain's technology minister Michele Donelan said: "Opening

our doors overseas and building on our alliance with the US is

central to my plan to set new, international standards on AI

safety, which we will discuss at the Seoul summit this week."