Superintelligent AI

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 26th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to regulate the development of superintelligent AI.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Baroness Lloyd of Effra) (Lab)]

AI’s superintelligence is the subject of ongoing debate regarding its definition and whether it is achievable. Advanced transformative AI presents both significant opportunities, such as improvements in healthcare and climate action, and risks. As frontier AI evolves, the AI Security Institute helps the Government assess and identify potential emerging risks, which would include pathways towards any kind of superintelligence. The Government will remain vigilant and prepare for new AI risks, including rapid advancements that could affect society and national security. AI regulated by existing expert regulators will be informed by the AISI findings.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that considered Answer. Clearly, AI has great potential; the UK is third in the global league of AI investment. I understand the Government’s response, which is essentially a nuanced approach to encourage both proper regulation and investment.

However, superintelligent AI undoubtedly does present risks. The Minister will know that the director-general of MI5 has warned of the

“potential future risks from non-human, autonomous AI systems which may evade human oversight and control”.

Meanwhile, the UK’s AI Security Institute has warned:

“In a worst-case scenario, this … could lead to catastrophic, irreversible loss of control over advanced Al systems”.


The problem is that the companies developing superintelligence do not know the outcome and there are currently no barriers to the development. I urge the Government to take this really seriously and to start talking to other countries about putting some safety controls in.

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to mention the research of the AI Security Institute, which is advice the Government listen to and take very seriously. AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI should be regulated at the point of use. My noble friend is also right that collaboration with other countries is critical, and the UK’s approach is to engage with many other countries, and through the AI Security Institute with developers so that it has good insight into what is happening in development today.