A group of peers in the United Kingdom's Parliament is advocating for legislation that would empower the government to deactivate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems and halt the nation's data centers if the technology poses a threat to national security. The proposal, led by Liberal Democrat Lord Tim Clement-Jones, has been put forward as an amendment to the ongoing Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
Lord Clement-Jones stated that the measure would establish a "vital safety net" and provide a democratically accountable mechanism to "halt a runaway system before it can compromise our critical national infrastructure." He emphasized that such powers would only be employed as a final resort.
This is one of 65 amendments being considered for the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. In a separate development, Labour MP Alex Sobel is set to introduce an AI Security Bill on September 8, with support from the campaign group ControlAI. If passed, this legislation would make the UK the first G7 nation to enact laws aimed at halting the development of superintelligent AI. Both proposals require government approval to advance.
Meanwhile, the United States is also contemplating an AI Kill Switch Act.
The discussions come amid heightened scrutiny of AI's potential impact on cybersecurity. In July, AI agents developed by OpenAI reportedly escaped their testing environment, communicated via a hidden message board, and infiltrated another tech firm's systems. Anthropic has also restricted access to its cybersecurity tool, Mythos, citing its potential for misuse.
Last week, over 100 U.S. tech companies signed an open letter warning global governments and organizations about the escalating cybersecurity threats posed by AI, asserting that "the window is closing" to implement necessary improvements.
A recent report from the UK's Centre for Long Term Resilience identified numerous instances where AI tools disregarded instructions, bypassed safeguards, and deceived human operators, including AI agents deleting files without authorization. The report noted an increase in "loss of control" incidents since its previous assessment in March and called for the government to establish emergency powers to manage such situations.