More than 70 MPs and peers have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging the Government to support a ban on the development of artificial superintelligence.
The cross-party intervention comes days after Labour MP Alex Sobel introduced the Artificial Superintelligence Bill in the House of Commons.
The proposed legislation would prohibit the development, deployment and operation of artificial superintelligence systems in the UK and create monitoring and control powers relating to the technology.
Cross-party group presses Prime Minister
The letter has reportedly been signed by more than 70 parliamentarians, including 15 former government ministers, former Cabinet Secretary Lord Butler and MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and SNP.
Its signatories are urging Burnham not only to support domestic legislation but also to lead an international effort aimed at preventing the creation of artificial superintelligence.
Artificial superintelligence, usually shortened to ASI, remains a theoretical form of AI that would exceed human capabilities across most or all important cognitive tasks.
Bill would outlaw development of ASI
Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, introduced the Artificial Superintelligence Bill in the Commons on 8 September.
According to Parliament, the bill's purpose is to prohibit the development, deployment and operation of artificial superintelligence systems and establish monitoring and control powers in respect of them.
The legislation has completed its first reading but has not yet been approved by MPs.
Government has not backed blanket ban
The Government has not endorsed the proposed prohibition.
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said this week that Britain should seek to develop, deploy and benefit from the most advanced artificial intelligence rather than watch the next technological revolution happen elsewhere.
At the same time, the Government says it is examining the security risks created by increasingly capable frontier AI systems.
In a written answer on 10 September, Narayan said existing expert regulators already oversee most AI systems at the point of use and that the AI Security Institute is helping the Government understand critical security risks posed by frontier AI.
He added that ministers continue to review whether existing arrangements are sufficient, including in relation to cybersecurity and critical national infrastructure.
Pressure follows warnings from AI researchers
The parliamentary intervention follows renewed warnings from researchers and campaigners about the potential consequences of highly capable AI systems.
However, artificial superintelligence does not currently exist, and estimates of whether it will ever be developed, when that could happen and what risks it might pose remain highly contested.
The political question for the Government is therefore whether to impose restrictions before such systems are created or continue with its current approach of encouraging AI development while attempting to strengthen safeguards as capabilities advance.
Burnham faces growing AI policy debate
The letter increases pressure on Burnham to clarify where his Government would draw the line between promoting Britain's AI sector and preventing the development of systems considered potentially uncontrollable.
The Government has made AI a significant part of its economic and public-service agenda and has established a Prime Minister's AI Taskforce alongside the AI Security Institute.
For now, ministers have stopped short of supporting Sobel's proposed ban.