China's representative has told a British summit on artificial intelligence that the nation will work with Western governments to collectively manage the risk posed by the rapidly evolving technology.

More than 25 countries present at the summit, including China and the United, signed a "Bletchley Declaration" saying countries needed to work together and establish a common approach on oversight.

The declaration set out a two-pronged agenda focused on identifying risks of shared concern and building scientific understanding of them, while also developing cross-country policies to mitigate them.

Addressing the opening of the summit, Wu Zhaohui, the nation's vice minister of science and technology, said China was willing to talk to all sides regarding AI regulation and help to formulate a global governance framework.

"We pursue a people-centred approach and develop AI for good with the goal of delivering benefits for all, on the condition of ensuring social security and respecting the rights and interests of humanity," Wu said.

"We should encourage the use of AI technology to prevent risks and strengthen technological capacity for AI governance. We should establish a testing and assessment system based on AI risk levels. We should ensure that AI always remains under human control."

The minister joined international leaders and tech bosses such as Elon Musk and ChatGPT's Sam Altman for the talks at Bletchley Park, home of Britain's second world war code-breakers.

Fears about the impact AI could have on economies and society took off in November last year when Microsoft-backed OpenAI made ChatGPT available to the public.

Governments and officials are now trying to chart a way forward alongside AI companies which fear being weighed down by regulation before the technology reaches its full potential.

"I don't know what necessarily the fair rules are, but you've got to start with insight before you do oversight," the billionaire Musk told reporters, adding that a "third-party referee" could be used to sound the alarm when risks develop. (Reuters)