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09 October 2026 / Nick Smallwood , Paul Knight
Issue: 8180 / Categories: Opinion , Artificial intelligence , Technology , Regulatory
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AI: Riding the runaway train

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As calls for regulation grow, the UK’s artificial intelligence rulebook remains a work in progress, write Nick Smallwood & Paul Knight

When riding a runaway train, presumably the protocol is to look down the track in terror. Perhaps we should be relieved, then, that leading industry figures have recently called for a pause on the development of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models.

While Amodei, Altman & co are considering where the AI locomotive ought to go next (and whether to install some brakes), now seems as good a time as any to reflect on the UK’s evolving approach to AI regulation.

Does the UK need an AI Bill?

A Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) report published last month recommended that the government introduce a new AI Bill in order to:

  1. Classify AI systems into different risk levels, and mandate proportionately more demanding obligations for higher-risk AI systems and AI models.
  2. Impose proportionate obligations on actors at all stages of the AI lifecycle and supply chains
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NEWS
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Pressure is mounting for a dedicated UK AI law, but deciding what it should achieve remains the central challenge
Legal professional privilege has checked the SRA’s investigative powers, exposing difficult questions about tackling suspected abusive litigation
Group claims, disputed costs and judicial recruitment dominate the latest courtroom round-up
Landlords face fresh registration duties as procedural reforms reshape the civil courts
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