The UK will set up a new centre to "stem the poisonous tide" of hostile state attacks, including Russian disinformation, and lead efforts to establish global safety standards for artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. In his first major international speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Burnham warned Russian agencies are using "every means at their disposal", including bots and fake websites, to "spread lies and disinformation". The prime minister noted AI will "multiply" existing threats, and pitched the UK as an "honest broker" on the technology.
Fears about AI have grown after industry insiders recently warned it could threaten humanity. In Burnham's speech, he accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign. "The Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion each year on manipulating information," Burnham told the UN General Assembly.
"They've used bots and fake websites, falsified newspaper articles, forged the branding of 28 British organisations, including universities and the BBC. "We're talking about an insidious campaign that reaches into people's homes and twists what they feel about their own country and community – creating a narrative of decline, stoking division and sowing despair. "On top of that we have seen cyber-attacks on our companies and institutions.
And we know that AI will multiply the threat."' He also referenced the 2019 UK general election, in which the government previously said Russia almost certainly sought to interfere. To counter this, Burnham announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to detect and disrupt AI-enabled disinformation campaigns by hostile states. The centre will work alongside intelligence agencies, government departments, law enforcement and social media to bring together expertise to combat "information warfare".
There was no immediate comment from Russia, a representative of which was sitting in the room listening to Burnham. When the UK government put out a report in 2020 about Russian activity in the UK, including in elections, Moscow described the allegations as "Russophobia". Addressing a forum about disinformation in Moscow on Tuesday, before the prime minister's speech, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western media of embracing "anti-Russian cliches and fantasies".
AI poses huge risks to national security without guardrails, minister says Before becoming prime minister, Burnham had said relatively little about how AI should be regulated. Since taking power in July, Burnham's government has stressed the need for international cooperation to combat the risks, as well as harness the potential benefits of the technology, warning that further regulation and legislation may be needed. In his speech, Burnham described the most advanced "Frontier AI" as "one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our age".
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