Andy Burnham said he wants the UK to lead the world in developing a set of rules to prevent the spread of rogue artificial intelligence (AI), putting him on a collision course with US President Donald Trump.
But his speech at the United Nations General Assembly came just hours after Mr Trump told the same event that he would resist attempts to rein in what he called “super intelligence”.
asserted
he → say → what
US and Chinese companies are leading the development of AI, with the White House wary of any measure which could see American firms lose ground to their Asian rivals.
uncertain
firms → lead → rivals
Mr Burnham said the UK would use its presidency of the G20 group of advanced economies to push for international agreement on the issue, arguing it was uniquely placed to do so.
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it → say → issue
We have deep ties with our friends in the EU and will deepen them further.
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We → have → them
“We work with China and emerging powers like India and Brazil.
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We → work → India
We sit on the Security Council.
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We → sit → Council
In a divided world, we have the ability to bring people together – and we will.
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we → have → people
“We are going to step into that role.
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We → go → role
And we are going to start with one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our age – frontier AI.”
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we → go → age
Mr Burnham said AI had immense potential in healthcare, economic growth, transforming education and in defence.
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AI → say → defence
But he acknowledged AI would be a source of disruption to jobs and said warnings from industry insiders about the technology’s potential to pose an existential risk to humanity must be heeded.
“I know how worried people are.
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people → acknowledge → humanity
So we have to rise to this moment,” he said.
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he → have → moment
“Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance.
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decisions → leave → chance
They must be taken by elected governments who serve working people.”
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who → take → people
Mr Burnham said the UK would work towards agreeing “a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness – and to ensure that AI development is safe”.
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development → say → preparedness
The Prime Minister has been criticised for not signing up to an initiative aimed at drawing up global rules led by countries including Norway and Finland.
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Minister → criticise → Norway
But he said the UK’s G20 plan would “bring together welcome initiatives from others – like that proposed by Norway this week”.
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plan → say → Norway
UK officials have made clear to AI firms that the country expects full visibility over new models and developers have been threatened with the use of legislation to ensure transparency.
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developers → make → transparency
Mr Trump, who has previously dismissed concerns about AI safety as a “hoax”, told the UN: “The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme of control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now – hereinafter officially called super intelligence.”
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States → dismiss → intelligence
Mr Trump added: “We will only encourage super intelligence.
“We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in.
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We → add → it
We’re going to watch it closely through the Department of Justice.
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We → go → Justice
“The United States leads the world in super intelligence, and we’ll continue to do so safely and responsibly.
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we → lead → intelligence
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham was criticised for not signing the UK up to the Norwegian and Finnish-led initiative while at the UN.
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Burnham → criticise → UN
The proposal has the support of more than 20 countries – including Germany, Canada and Ireland.
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proposal → have → Germany
Former Cabinet minister Darren Jones said the countries were the UK’s “natural allies” and Mr Burnham should have joined them.
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Burnham → say → them
Mr Jones, the former chief secretary to previous prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, said: “The UK has special access to American AI models through the AI Security Institute, which is partly why the UK Government will want to remain in lock step with the United States.
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Government → say → States
“But I don’t see any reason why the UK can’t sign up to the Finnish proposal.
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UK → see → proposal
I encourage our Government to do so and to offer to broker agreement on its application with the United States.”
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I → encourage → States
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used his speech at his party’s conference to call for a global treaty to press pause on super-intelligent AI, as well as a new international AI safety agency.
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Davey → use → AI
Meanwhile, tech giants Meta, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic have been called to give evidence to MPs as they examine questions including whether firms should be legally required to submit their AI models to independent safety testing before deploying them.
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firms → call → them
The House of Commons Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee has invited representatives from the companies to give evidence at an urgent hearing on October 13, as it concludes its inquiry into the UK’s economic strategy for AI.
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it → invite → AI
The panel will also consider topics such as whether companies accept mandatory reporting of serious safety incidents, including deceptive behaviour by AIs, and evidence of loss of human control.
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companies → consider → control
The companies have been asked to confirm by September 29 whether they will send representatives to the hearing and to provide written responses to the committee’s questions in advance.
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they → ask → advance
The Aporia
