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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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DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

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Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

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