Key facts
- Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey will call for a global pause on super-intelligent AI development.
- Davey proposes a global non-proliferation treaty for AI, comparing it to nuclear arms control.
- He suggests the UK could host a new international AI safety agency, modeled on the IAEA.
- Davey criticizes the UK's US-UK tech deal as insufficient and potentially dependent on "tech bros".
- The Liberal Democrats have also proposed a big tech levy and regulation of smart glasses.
- Concerns exist about AI potentially "destroying us all" within the decade.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is set to call for a global pause on the development of super-intelligent artificial intelligence, drawing parallels to nuclear arms control and warning of existential risks. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, Davey will advocate for a global non-proliferation treaty for AI, suggesting the UK could host a new international agency modeled on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prevent "reckless" development.
Davey plans to argue that AI development is currently being dictated by a "tiny number of the richest and most powerful in California and in Beijing" without adequate safeguards. He will state that existential technologies like nuclear weapons or climate change cannot be left to a "powerful few," naming tech leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk.
The Liberal Democrats have also criticized the UK's recent US-UK tech deal, with Davey asserting it does not adequately address the scale of the AI threat and could lead to increased dependence on a "Trump administration in the pocket of the tech bros." Previously, the party's home affairs spokesperson, Max Wilkinson, announced proposals for a big tech levy and a new online crime agency, including tackling deepfake AI-generated pornography. Wilkinson also highlighted concerns about Meta's smart glasses, calling them "perv goggles" and criticizing the government for not regulating them to protect civil liberties.
Davey also touched on other cost-of-living policies, including a proposed 10p cut to fuel duty for three months and a reduction in the bus fare cap to £1. He defended his party's policy approach, stating a focus on well-thought-out proposals rather than populist noise.