Speaking in New York on his first multilateral appearance as Britain’s seventh prime minister in ten years, Burnham warned that AI development is outpacing existing safeguards and could heighten national‑security risks if left unchecked.
He said the UK intends to act as an “honest broker” in shaping a single set of global AI principles, leveraging its close ties with the United States, improving relations with the European Union, and maintaining constructive links with China and India.
Burnham highlighted the work of the UK’s AI Security Institute, which collaborates with U.S. agencies and leading AI labs, but argued that deeper visibility into frontier AI models is needed to bolster preparedness and resilience.
The prime minister also accused Russian state actors of using bots, fake websites, falsified newspaper articles and forged branding of 28 British organisations—including universities and the BBC—to spread disinformation and influence public opinion, citing evidence of interference in the 2019 general election; Russia has denied the allegations.
To counter hostile information campaigns, Burnham announced the establishment of a National Centre for Information Defence, tasking security chiefs with detecting, attributing and disrupting state‑sponsored attacks and deep‑fake content that threaten British democracy.
He pledged to place AI at the core of Britain’s G20 presidency next year, insisting that elected governments, not private tech firms, must make the fundamental policy choices governing the technology.