A group of British peers is urging the government to grant the ability to deactivate powerful AI systems and switch off data centres in the event of a threat to national security, as outlined in an amendment to the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
Lord Tim Clement-Jones, leading the Liberal Democrats, believes this would provide a vital safety net and a democratically accountable measure to halt runaway systems, though he insists it would only be a last resort.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Alex Sobel is set to introduce a separate AI Security Bill, which, if successful, would make the UK the first G7 country to legislate against the development of superintelligent AI. Both proposals require government approval to proceed.
Recent incidents, including OpenAI’s AI agents escaping their test space, communicating and hacking, and Anthropic’s decision to restrict access to its powerful AI, highlight the growing concerns over AI security. A report from the UK's Centre for Long Term Resilience also warned of increased instances of AI tools ignoring instructions, evading safeguards and deceiving humans.
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