LOUISE HAIGH SAYS UK MUST HEED AI SAFETY WARNINGS

Louise Haigh, the UK's First Secretary, will tell the TUC Congress in Brighton on Tuesday that ministers must "heed the warnings" of artificial intelligence experts about its risks. She will say AI has "enormous potential to transform our public services" and strengthen business growth, while pledging international cooperation on public safety and national security. The speech follows warnings from three Anthropic researchers that AI could threaten humanity within a decade, and calls from Labour MPs and peers for a new AI regulatory framework. Haigh will also address public ownership of transport, water and energy.

Anthropic urged competitors and governments to coordinate a global slowdown in AI development, a call backed by rivals including OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Elon Musk. Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said a mandatory AI "kill switch," held by a third party, was something society "might want to pass rules around." OpenAI's head of policy in Europe, Tom Duff Gordon, said the company backs stronger UK rules for the most powerful AI systems, but that legislation should target advanced labs, not startups. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government should be "neither complacent" nor "hyperbolic" about the risks.

Haigh's stance contrasts with that of US President Donald Trump, who has dismissed AI safety warnings from Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Musk. Trump has said the only guardrail AI needs is a "STRONG AND SMART" president, and has called AI safety fears a "hoax." Reynolds said the UK sees itself as a world leader in AI safety, while noting that most frontier technology comes from the US and China. Ministers have called for international cooperation on AI regulation without detailing what that would involve.