Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey will use his keynote address on the final day of the party’s conference in Brighton to call for an international non-proliferation treaty aimed at halting the development of super-intelligent artificial intelligence.
Davey frames the danger as comparable to a nuclear arms race, warning that unchecked advancement of super-intelligent AI could lead to technology that might “destroy us all”. He is expected to urge a global pause on projects that could produce such systems while an international framework is negotiated.
In his speech he will single out Andy Burnham, accusing the Labour politician of relying on figures such as Donald Trump and “tech bros” to deal with the challenge. The criticism underscores a broader debate across UK parties about how governments should regulate rapidly advancing AI technologies and who should be trusted to shape those responses.
The proposal for a treaty mirrors longstanding international efforts to control the spread of weapons and other high-risk technologies. Davey’s intervention brings the issue to the fore at the Liberal Democrats’ Brighton gathering and signals the party’s intent to press for multilateral action on AI governance.