Sir Ed Davey Calls for Global Treaty to Pause Super-Intelligent AI
- Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey called for the United Kingdom government to spearhead an international treaty pressing pause on super-intelligent artificial intelligence, diverging sharply from government policy...
- To combat what he described as reckless development, Davey proposed establishing a new International AI Safety Agency.
- Davey's speech coincides with an announcement from Andy Burnham, who unveiled a fresh engagement deal with the administration of United States President Trump during a visit to New...
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey called for the United Kingdom government to spearhead an international treaty pressing pause on super-intelligent artificial intelligence, diverging sharply from government policy as Andy Burnham secured a new defense and technology partnership with the United States. Speaking ahead of his party’s conference session, Davey argued that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence represents a fundamental crisis regarding the concentration of global power. According to the Liberal Democrats leader, the technology is currently too concentrated, and we must break it up.
Proposed International AI Safety Agency
To combat what he described as reckless development, Davey proposed establishing a new International AI Safety Agency. According to the Liberal Democrats, the proposed regulatory body would be modeled on the International Atomic Energy Agency, which regulates global nuclear powers and the use of nuclear energy. Davey’s intervention marks the strongest criticism of artificial intelligence taken by any top political leader in the UK. The proposals stand in stark contrast to the approach favored by Downing Street, which has positioned the United Kingdom as a hub for safe artificial intelligence innovation and recently established the existing AI Security Institute.
US-UK Defense Partnership and Burnham Visit
Davey’s speech coincides with an announcement from Andy Burnham, who unveiled a fresh engagement deal with the administration of United States President Trump during a visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. According to government announcements, the new bilateral partnership aims to utilize artificial intelligence and autonomy to protect critical infrastructure, including airspace and shipping routes. Burnham is scheduled to address United Nations members to argue that artificial intelligence can drive down the cost of living while supporting a more secure and stable global environment. Government officials maintain that the technology will be harnessed to make participating countries safer and stronger. However, Davey dismissed the trans-Atlantic agreement as inadequate for managing the severity of the technological threat. He contended that Burnham’s arrangement leaves the United Kingdom increasingly dependent on a Trump administration in the pocket of the tech bros. Sir Ed Davey The problem is fundamentally one about power. It’s too concentrated, and we must break it up.
Broader Political and Industry Divide
The political debate over regulatory pauses mirrors a wider rift across the technology sector and policymaking circles. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s institute released a report arguing that slowing down artificial intelligence development would add to costs for growth and national security. The international discourse on the pacing of artificial intelligence gained urgency following warnings from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who asserted that developers were “gambling with our lives”. Anthropic boss Dario Amodie and X owner Elon Musk have previously voiced support for slowing development to ensure safety, whereas Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has publicly dismissed predictions of human extinction within years. With the Liberal Democrats conference underway, Davey intends to center his broader agenda on empowering the powerless and holding the already-powerful to account, ensuring artificial intelligence governance remains a central flashpoint in British politics.