UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the United Nations that Britain was ready to lead an international effort to establish AI standards, citing concerns that the technology could outpace safeguards and pose mounting national security risks.
“I know how worried people are. So we have to rise to this moment. At his first multinational meeting in New York as Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, Burnham made his support for AI the focus of his bid for Britain to assume a role on the global stage, rebuilding its diplomatic status.
“We’ve all heard the warnings – which we must heed,” he said in his inaugural speech to the United Nations General Assembly. He has said that rather than become a “doom-monger” about AI, he wanted Britain to pursue the huge benefits it could bring while being clear about the risks, which range from safeguards failing to keep up and hostile actors using it to wage an information war. “Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears,” he said. Burnham said he would position Britain as an “honest broker” to take a leadership role, citing its close US ties, improving EU relationship and decent relations with China and India. Britain has a world-leading AI Security Institute, which works hand in glove with the US and the leading labs on AI safety, he said, but it needed to go further. In discussions with AI leaders, officials have made clear Britain expects full and total visibility of new frontier models to strengthen the UK’s preparedness and resilience, his office said.
