The United Kingdom says it will fight disinformation at home and abroad and work toward establishing global principles and standards to ensure the safe development of artificial intelligence (AI).

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said this in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Mr Burnham said recent years had seen “an industrial-scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment” in the UK and many of its allies.

He told world leaders that Russian agencies had used various means to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears, including bots, fake websites and falsified news articles.

“They’ve amplified far-right narratives. And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 general elections.

“We also know that they have tried to stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events,” he said.

Mr Burnham said the Kremlin spent around £1.3 billion annually on manipulating information, adding that British companies and institutions also suffered cyber-attacks.

He stated, “And we know that AI will multiply the threat.”

The Prime Minister said the UK would establish a new National Centre for Information Defence to detect, attribute and disrupt information attacks while supporting and defending its democracy.

He said the UK would use its experience to help other countries, noting that it had already supported Moldova in protecting its elections against alleged Russian interference.

“As more elections approach across Europe, more nations are grappling with these issues, some for the first time.

“So, we’re ready to share our understanding of how these actors work and how we can respond, because this is vital for our collective security and resilience,” he said.

On artificial intelligence, Mr Burnham described Frontier AI, the cutting edge of the technology, as “one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our age.”

He announced that the UK was developing a new AI defence partnership with the United States to protect critical national infrastructure.

The Prime Minister emphasised that fundamental decisions on AI “are too important to be left to chance” and “must be taken by elected governments who serve working people.”

Mr Burnham said the UK would bring the right people together to deliver on the potential of AI for good while also addressing its risks.

“And we will work towards agreeing on 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 said the initiative would build on recent international discussions and place AI at the heart of the UK’s G20 Presidency in 2027.

Mr Burnham said the UK would work with other countries on key issues, including harnessing AI’s potential, addressing associated risks and ensuring that AI development remains safe.

Mr Burnham’s speech also addressed global security, climate change, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. 

(NAN)