TLDR: King Charles III recently hosted a ceremony for the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, where he engaged with prominent tech figures like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Professor Fei-Fei Li on the potential risks and ethical considerations of artificial intelligence. The monarch emphasized the rapid pace of technological advancement and the presence of ‘bad actors,’ while industry leaders highlighted AI’s dual nature for both societal benefit and potential harm, including job displacement and deepfakes.
King Charles III convened with leading figures in the technology sector, including Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang, to deliberate on the burgeoning risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) during the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize) awards ceremony. The event, held at St James’ Palace on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, saw the monarch present the prestigious QEPrize, often referred to as the ‘Nobel prize’ of the engineering world, to seven innovators recognized for their contributions to modern machine learning.
During his discussions with the award recipients, King Charles expressed concerns about the rapid pace of technological emergence, noting, ‘there’s a lot of bad actors around.’ Jensen Huang, whose company Nvidia is currently recognized as the world’s most valuable, shared insights into the King’s perspective on AI safety. Huang stated that the King ‘cares very deeply about AI safety’ and acknowledges the technology’s ‘incredible capability to revolutionise UK and the world,’ while also stressing the importance of ensuring AI is used for good and advancing its safety.
Huang also revealed a personal anecdote, recalling that King Charles’s initial words to him at the event were, ‘I need to talk to you.’ The Nvidia CEO, a recipient of the QEPrize, further advised the public to use multiple AI software for ‘second opinions’ and to ‘critique’ answers from one model with another.
Among the distinguished honorees was Chinese-American computer scientist Professor Fei-Fei Li, celebrated for her pioneering work in ‘teaching computers to see.’ Professor Li underscored the dual nature of AI, describing it as ‘a very powerful technology – as all powerful technologies are, they’re a double-edged sword.’ She emphasized the significant benefits AI offers across sectors such as ‘healthcare, education, manufacturing,’ but also cautioned about inherent risks, including ‘jobs will be shifting, it will impact different industries in very different ways, whether it’s … from deep fakes to its ability to make decisions.’
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The QEPrize ceremony also recognized other innovators, with Andrew Garrad and Henrik Stiesdal receiving the 2024 QEPrizes for their advancements in modern wind power technology. The discussions at the palace highlighted a growing global awareness among leaders regarding the ethical implications and societal impact of rapidly evolving AI technologies.
