The UK government faces mounting pressure to address the national security risks posed by artificial intelligence, with a senior minister warning that the technology presents "huge risks" to society without proper guardrails. First Secretary of State Louise Haigh told the TUC congress on Tuesday that ministers must "heed the warnings" from those developing the technology, as concerns escalate among AI researchers and former employees about the pace of progress.
Haigh acknowledged AI's "enormous potential" for public services, businesses and science, but stressed the government's obligation to act. "We have a solemn duty to mitigate the risks and ensure that it is for the benefit - not the detriment - of our society," she said. The government has signalled it is "ready to work with international partners" to prioritise public safety and national security.
Calls for legislative action intensify
MPs are pushing for new laws on AI after a parliamentary report documented numerous human rights abuses linked to the technology. Labour MP Alex Sobel, who chairs the relevant committee, said bluntly: "Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose."
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that people should not be complacent about the risks, but also cautioned against being "hyperbolic." He warned that overregulation could cause the UK to lose access to models developed abroad, which he argued would make the country "less safe."
Researchers sound alarms on existential risk
The warnings from Westminster echo growing concern within the AI industry itself. Evan Hubinger, a researcher at Anthropic, said he believes there is a greater than 10% chance AI "could kill all humans" within the next decade. Former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon told the BBC that "if we don't slow down at the current rate of progress, there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future."
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for the pace of development on models such as Claude or ChatGPT to slow down and be closely monitored. He said risks were "serious" and that companies and governments must be given time to address them. OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed his position. However, some in the industry have suggested existential fears may be overstated or designed to generate hype.
'Kill switch' proposal rejected by Cabinet Office
One proposal brought to Parliament by Lords and MPs would create a legal mechanism for the UK to switch off an AI model during an emergency. Jack Clark, an Anthropic co-founder, told the BBC that "most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug," but suggested MPs may need to enforce having one.
The Cabinet Office rejected the idea, with a spokesperson stating the UK "cannot simply turn AI off." The spokesperson added: "Blocking access to models in the UK would not prevent them being developed or misused elsewhere." Reynolds also dismissed the concept, saying: "I don't think that's a particularly helpful way to think about how we manage the risks - I'm not really sure what that would mean in practice."
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has dismissed AI fears entirely, calling the idea of AI destroying humanity "a HOAX" and linking it to what he describes as the "Global Warming Scam" by the left.
Why this matters for government professionals
The debate over AI regulation is moving from theoretical discussion to concrete legislative proposals, and government departments will need to prepare for new compliance frameworks. The tension between fostering innovation and enforcing safety measures creates immediate operational questions: how will procurement rules change, what oversight mechanisms will departments need, and how will international coordination on AI safety affect cross-border data and technology agreements? For policy makers working on AI regulation, the window to shape these guardrails is narrowing as development accelerates. Teams responsible for AI implementation in government should track parliamentary activity closely - the committee findings and ministerial statements this week signal that legislative action is likely to come faster than many expected.
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