UK Foreign Secretary warns: We cannot afford an AI 'Hiroshima'

She said there was a need for an international agreement on AI safety to harness its potential safely, according to Britain’s PA Media.

Cooper argued that international agreements on nuclear weapons only emerged after their “terrifying power” was demonstrated at the end of World War II, but “we cannot afford to wait until something equivalent to Hiroshima happens in AI.”

Earlier this month, the UN’s AI advisory body warned that “the gap between rapidly improving capabilities and effective risk management approaches could lead to catastrophic outcomes.”

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance, comprising the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, warned that AI-enabled cyberattacks could be just months away.

In an article published today, Monday, by the Chatham House international affairs research center, the Foreign Secretary said the UK was well placed to lead efforts on AI safety, building on the 2023 Bletchley Park summit held under then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

She said there were “clear parallels with the international consensus the UK helped build around nuclear safety after World War II,” which led to agreements that enabled the development of nuclear energy and contained nuclear weapons.

“But no such agreements exist among global powers on AI,” she added.

The article, titled “Britain’s Place in the New Global Order,” noted that people in the UK are increasingly feeling the impact of global instability, from rising energy and food prices to migration pressures and the risk of cyberattacks.