Politics · United Kingdom · 7 hrs ago
Former UK attorney general urges urgent international rules for AI
Richard Hermer, who served for two years as the UK’s attorney general, is calling for urgent international coordination to regulate advanced AI.
He says AI could bring major advances in science and medicine, but also create serious risks.
One concern is that AI could help people develop biological weapons or act in ways that cause mass deaths.
Another is that it could reduce people’s control over their lives and concentrate power among a few governments and technology executives.
Hermer says the full risks are not yet understood, and that increasingly complex AI systems could become difficult for people to control.
He argues that decisions about AI should not be left only to China, the United States and large technology companies.
He wants stronger coordination between countries and meaningful public involvement in shaping AI’s development.
Former UK attorney general Richard Hermer says governments must urgently coordinate internationally to regulate frontier AI.
He warns that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, including by enabling the creation of biological weapons.
Hermer also says unchecked AI could deprive billions of people of meaningful agency and concentrate power in a few states and technology leaders.
He calls for public engagement so AI is shaped to benefit humanity rather than entrench the power of a few.
- Who
- Richard Hermer, a former UK attorney general.
- What
- He is urging urgent international coordination to regulate frontier AI and greater public engagement.
- When
- The article was published on 12 October 2026.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Hermer says AI poses risks to humanity and could deprive people of meaningful agency while concentrating power.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
He says he spent more time working on national security than on any other issue.
The disclosure of the Hugging Face hack and Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic helped bring AI risks into public discussion.
The Guardian published Hermer's call for urgent international coordination to regulate frontier AI.
- Author
- Richard Hermer
- Publication date
- 12 October 2026
- Proposed action
- Urgent international coordination to regulate frontier AI
- Risks identified
- Existential harm and loss of meaningful human agency
What people are saying
The risk is difficult to overestimate: it poses an existential risk to humanity.
we desperately need increased urgency in international coordination to regulate frontier AI.
We cannot leave this to China, the US and big tech – we must all demand a voice in the debate.
Sources
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