Artificial intelligence is facing new scrutiny in the UK after a senior minister warned the technology could threaten national security without proper safeguards. First Secretary of State Louise Haigh spoke at the TUC congress on Tuesday.
Haigh serves as Prime Minister Andy Burnham's de facto deputy. She told the audience the government must listen to warnings from people working directly on AI development.
She said the government is ready to work with international partners on the issue. Her goal is to prioritize public safety and national security as AI use grows.
Concerns Grow After Industry Warnings
The comments follow a string of warnings from people inside the AI industry. Executives and current and former staff have raised concerns that the technology could endanger humanity.
Haigh acknowledged AI has real potential for public services, businesses, and science. But she said the risks to society are real if proper guardrails are not put in place.
She described it as a duty to make sure AI benefits society rather than harms it. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also spoke on the topic Tuesday morning.
Reynolds told BBC Radio 4 that people should take the risks seriously. He also said the public should avoid overreacting to the concerns.
The warnings come as UK lawmakers push for new AI legislation. A report found the technology was linked to human rights abuses.
Labour MP Alex Sobel, who chairs a related committee, said no country currently has AI laws that are fit for purpose. That includes the UK itself.
Anthropic Staff Raise Alarm
Evan Hubinger, a researcher at Anthropic, said he believes there is more than a 10% chance AI could kill all humans within the next decade. His comments drew wide attention.
His statement followed remarks from Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic employee. Coxon told the BBC that humanity's fate over the next two years is at stake if development does not slow down.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for slower AI development. He said the risks are serious and companies need time to address them.
Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk have both backed Amodei's call. Not everyone in the industry agrees with the warnings, though.
Some people in the field say fears about AI destroying humanity are overstated. Others suggest the claims may be designed to generate hype for the technology.
Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, floated the idea of an AI "kill switch." He told the BBC that most labs already have ways to shut down dangerous software.
Reynolds pushed back on the kill switch idea. He said he was not sure what it would mean in practice and that overregulation could cut UK access to AI models made elsewhere.
The Cabinet Office said the UK cannot simply turn AI off. A spokesperson said blocking access to models in the UK would not stop them from being developed or misused elsewhere.
US President Donald Trump has dismissed fears of AI destroying humanity. He called the idea a hoax on his platform Truth Social, blaming the claim on political opponents.
Trump has compared the AI danger warnings to what he calls the "Global Warming Scam." He has also spoken publicly about wanting the US to win the AI race.
