UK lawmakers press Burnham to support proposed ban on artificial superintelligence

More than 70 UK MPs and peers have urged Andy Burnham to support a proposed ban on the creation of artificial superintelligence (ASI) and promote international action to address its potential risks.

The bill, tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, would prohibit the creation of ASI — a theoretical form of artificial intelligence described as exceeding human capabilities across most domains. The proposal has not become law.

The lawmakers want Burnham to use next year’s UK presidency of the G20 to build an international “coalition of the willing” focused on what they describe as a national and international security threat. Supporters include Labour MP Alex Sobel, Beatrice Fihn, Stuart Russell and the lobby group Control AI.

The campaign follows warnings from Evan Hubinger, a senior employee at Anthropic, who has assessed the chance of the technology wiping out humanity at more than 10 per cent. Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon has also warned that companies are not acting responsibly in their race for AI supremacy. Those estimates and warnings remain contested.

Supporters point to possible consequences including catastrophic cyber-attacks, novel biohazards and autonomous weapons. The Guardian reported that Anthropic had also disclosed attempts by criminals, state-backed groups and others to use its models in work involving weapons, pathogens and surveillance.

The government said the measures proposed in the bill were not the right approach, but that it was examining whether targeted interventions might be needed to address the most significant AI-related national security risks. Critics of the ban argue ASI remains theoretical and that safeguards could prevent the worst outcomes.