The AI Safety Summit is being held in London, with attendees including politicians, computer experts, and technology leaders. The location chosen for the summit is Bletchley Park, known for its significance in codebreaking and the development of computing.

In an effort to defeat Nazi Germany during World War II, a team of skilled individuals including mathematicians, cryptographers, crossword enthusiasts, and chess experts came together at a rural estate 45 miles (72 kilometers) outside of London. Their mission was to break through Adolf Hitler’s seemingly impenetrable codes.

Bletchley Park’s most notable accomplishment was successfully deciphering the Enigma encryption machine used by Germany, known for its ever-changing code and believed to be impenetrable. Mathematician Alan Turing, building upon the efforts of Polish codebreakers, created the “Turing bombe,” a precursor to modern computers, to crack the code.

The decoded Enigma messages disclosed information about the movements of Germany’s U-boat fleets, which proved vital for the North African desert campaign and the Allied invasion of France. According to certain historians, breaking the code may have played a significant role in shortening the war by potentially two years.

According to historian Chris Smith, who wrote “The Hidden History of Bletchley Park,” it is unverifiable how much the efforts at Bletchley Park contributed to the shortening of the war, but it certainly accelerated the advancement of computing.

During World War II, scientists at Bletchley Park created Colossus, the initial programmable digital computer, to decode the Lorenz cipher which was utilized by Hitler to exchange messages with his high-ranking officers.

“They built, effectively, one of the early generations of computers from basically nothing,” Smith said, exhibiting a “technological optimism” that’s a striking feature of wartime Bletchley Park.

It is not surprising that the current government led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak finds it motivating.

According to Smith, a history professor at Coventry University, there is a common belief that Bletchley Park was primarily a place for Turing and other unconventional scientists, but this oversimplifies its actual impact.

“He expressed the idea that a team of intellectuals armed with simple materials such as wool, wire, and miscellaneous items can ultimately emerge victorious in the war.”

During the war, approximately 10,000 individuals were employed at Bletchley Park, with a majority of them being women. They were spread out across various accommodations, including the mansion, newly constructed brick and concrete buildings, and smaller wooden huts.

Smith described Bletchley Park as a vast government administrative system, likening it to a factory that operated around the clock.

After the end of the war, the individuals who cracked codes went back to their regular lives and were obligated to keep their wartime efforts confidential. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the activities at Bletchley Park were revealed to the public in Britain.

In 1994, the location was transformed into a museum by a group of community historians who joined forces to save it from being demolished for a supermarket. The museum has been refurbished to showcase its original 1940s design, featuring manual typewriters, rotary phones, and enamel mugs. One of the mugs is even chained to a radiator in Hut 8, the room where Turing oversaw the Enigma team.

Following the war, Turing persisted in his research on computing and created the “Turing test” as a means of determining when artificial intelligence reaches a point of being indistinguishable from a human – a test that some argue current AI has already successfully completed.

In 1952, he was found guilty of “gross indecency” for his involvement with a man, his security clearance was revoked, and he was required to take estrogen to suppress his sexual desires. Tragically, at the age of 41 in 1954, he passed away from consuming a cyanide-laced apple.

In 2009, the British government offered a posthumous apology to Turing and granted him a royal pardon in 2013. The movie “The Imitation Game,” released in 2014 and featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing, solidified his position as a national hero.

Turing has been honored with statues and plaques in various locations throughout the United Kingdom. The Turing Prize, which holds great significance in the field of computing, is a tribute to him and awards a prize of $1 million. In fact, his image is featured on the 50-pound note issued by the Bank of England.

Source: wral.com