Stephen Fry Falls Off Stage at Event in London and Taken to Hospital: 'Wishing Him a Swift Recovery'

According to the report, Fry was walking off stage after speaking about artificial intelligence at the CogX festival in London when he fell six feet off the edge

Stephen Fry collapsed at an event in London last week.

A spokesperson for the CogX Festival tech conference confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement that Fry had “an accident after giving his inspirational speech on the impact of artificial intelligence.”

The fall of the 66-year-old British actor, writer and comedian happened as he was leaving the stage at The O2 on Thursday, The Daily mail reports. He fell approximately six feet from the edge of the stage to the floor, according to the source, who said Fry was taken to the hospital for treatment after suffering leg and rib injuries.

Representatives for Fry did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Wednesday; the state of his current condition is unclear.

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Stephen Fry in London on June 20, 2023.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Adding that those behind the CogX Festival are “deeply concerned” for Fry’s well-being, the group said in a statement: “We are thinking of him and wish him a speedy recovery.”

“We have opened our own investigation and are unable to share any additional details until then,” the event’s press release concluded.

Fry gave a talk on artificial intelligence (AI) at the event and, according to Wealth (over it The Independent), gave the example of a historical documentary that used artificial intelligence to recreate his voice for narration without his permission.

“I didn’t say a word of it – it was a machine,” he said. “Yes, it shocked me. They used my reading of seven volumes of the book Harry Potter book, and from that data set an artificial intelligence of my voice was created that made that new narrative.”

“What you heard was not the result of interference. This is from a flexible artificial voice, where the words are modulated to match the meaning of each sentence,” Fry added. “I could therefore read anything from calls to invade parliament to heavy pornography, all without my knowledge and without my permission. And what you just heard was done without my knowledge.”

The black adder The alum has previously spoken about his health, including having his prostate removed after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“This was a pretty aggressive little hassle,” Fry said in a February 2018 video. “As far as we know, everything was won. … I won’t know for sure until my PSA level is checked. They should be 0 now because I don’t have a prostate. But if anything remains at the bottom of the prostate, then I’ll need radiotherapy and the whole bloody process will start all over again.”

While he was “feeling good and happy”, Fry added that the “rather unwelcome and unexpected adventure” had hit him hard.

“Cancer, in the end, it’s a word that just rings in your head,” he said. “You shouldn’t get cancer. I know it’s an old cliché, but you don’t think that’s going to happen to you. Cancer is something that happens to other people!”

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Source: HIS Education