Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to put AI at the centre of the UK's G20 presidency next year and outlined plans to work with international partners on global AI standards while strengthening collaboration with the US on AI security and tackling AI-enabled disinformation.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Burnham said the UK would seek agreement on a “single set of global principles and standards” for AI development, arguing that governments must take the lead in shaping the technology's future rather than leaving decisions to chance.

The initiative builds on the UK's existing AI Security Institute and follows a meeting convened by King Charles last week focused on AI governance.

Burnham said the UK would use its G20 presidency to bring together governments, industry and researchers to address both the opportunities and risks of frontier AI.

“We will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness, and to ensure that AI development is safe,” he said.

He added that the UK would seek to combine existing international initiatives, including a proposal put forward by Norway, into a coordinated global framework.

Alongside the international standards push, Burnham announced a new UK-US AI defence partnership designed to protect critical national infrastructure.

The Prime Minister described AI as a transformative technology capable of accelerating cancer diagnosis, driving economic growth and improving education, while warning that it would also become a “multiplier of risk”.

He argued that AI would intensify the threat posed by hostile state-backed disinformation campaigns, citing what he described as years of Russian attempts to manipulate public opinion in the UK through bots, fake websites, forged media content and election interference.

To counter this, he announced plans to establish a National Centre for Information Defence tasked with detecting, attributing and disrupting hostile information attacks targeting the UK.

The Prime Minister said Britain would also share its experience with allies facing similar threats, pointing to previous support provided to Moldova in protecting its elections from foreign interference.

Burnham positioned the UK as an international bridge between the US, Europe and other major economies, arguing that this made it well placed to lead discussions on AI governance.

He compared the proposed international cooperation on AI to the coordinated G20 response following the 2008 global financial crisis, when countries agreed common principles while implementing them domestically in different ways.

While emphasising AI's potential economic and societal benefits, Burnham said governments must ensure the technology remains accountable to citizens.

“Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance," he said. "They must be taken by elected governments who serve working people.”

He also signalled that the government was prepared to introduce further AI legislation if necessary to protect the public, saying: “Ultimately we will do whatever is necessary to protect them – including bringing forward new laws if that is what is needed.”

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