More than 70 members of Parliament and peers have called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to back legislation prohibiting the creation of artificial superintelligence, contending that such technology poses an existential threat. The group includes 15 former government ministers, the former head of the civil service, and representatives from multiple political parties, who submitted their appeal following a series of statements from AI researchers describing significant risks to humanity.
Alex Sobel, the Labour MP sponsoring the proposed bill tabled earlier this week in the Commons, said lawmakers want the government to establish a regulatory framework preventing superintelligent AI development. The parliamentarians cited public warnings from current and former AI industry professionals, including a researcher who recently departed from Anthropic claiming neither that company nor OpenAI was acting responsibly and warning that both firms were engaged in a competitive race without adequate safeguards. An Anthropic employee indicated he assessed the probability of superintelligent AI causing human extinction at above 10 percent.
The proposed legislation mirrors similar measures backed by international figures including a Nobel Prize-winning nuclear nonproliferation advocate and a prominent AI safety researcher. Supporters contend that a UK ban alone would prove ineffective unless complemented by international coordination, and they are urging Burnham to leverage the nation’s upcoming presidency of the G20 to establish broader international consensus on restricting superintelligent AI development.
A government representative responded that the administration does not view the bill’s approach as appropriate but stated authorities are considering targeted interventions to address significant AI-related national security risks. Critics of the extinction warnings have suggested the concerns remain theoretical, noting that superintelligent AI has not yet been created and that safety measures might mitigate worst-case scenarios. Meanwhile, additional recent incidents involving unexpected AI behavior have intensified the ongoing debate over development risks and appropriate regulatory measures.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI