It also comes as former engineers and leading officials from major AI companies warn of possible catastrophe if their models are left to advance unchecked.
Created in 2023, the U.K.’s AISI has established close links with leading AI labs, routinely testing their latest models ahead of public release on a voluntary basis.
The U.K. government has made AISI’s expertise and model access a central part of its domestic response to AI safety concerns, as well as its pitch to lead work on a global agreement on AI.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham this week said AI will be “at the heart” of the country’s G20 presidency next year.
But AISI’s privileged access to frontier models from leading American labs is under pressure from the Trump administration’s insistence that the U.S. government get first access to emerging systems.
The U.K. has sought to downplay any clash, with Burnham saying at the U.N. General Assembly this week that the U.K.’s institute was “working hand in glove with the U.S. and the leading labs on AI safety.” He called for a “single set of global principles and standards” to improve transparency and preparedness and ensure AI is developed safely.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband made a similar case at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, saying governments need to ensure frontier models are “rigorously tested” and have enough visibility to assess what companies are doing.
“The leading AI companies have actually committed to provide this visibility. It’s really, really important, and it is an offer that we and they should follow through,” Miliband said.