Oxford Generative AI Summit raises alarms over corporate AI safety

The corporate world wants AI agents that can run errands across its systems on their own. The people building and studying those agents say making them safe is turning out to be harder than anyone planned. That tension sat at the center of the Oxford Generative AI Summit, known as OxGen26. Safety and security worries surrounding agentic AI could slow how quickly companies put these tools to work. Inside the room at Jesus College The summit ran from October 15 to 16, 2026, at the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub in Jesus College, part of the University of Oxford. It drew an estimated 200 to 250 leaders from enterprise, government, academia, startups and media. More than 200 attendees sat through 27 sessions featuring 70 speakers. Among the headliners was Rebecca Finlay, CEO of the Partnership on AI. The broader lineup focused on responsible deployment and governance. Most of the conversation centered on practical adoption of AI and its effects on society and the economy. The specific worry that kept coming back was AI agents. The trouble with agents talking to agents A Reuters analysis published after the event framed the safety and security challenges around agentic systems as alarming. ...