OpenAI urges UK lawmakers to rein in technology amid growing safety fears

OpenAI has urged British lawmakers to capitalise on renewed fears over AI safety and impose legislation reining in the technology.

The company behind ChatGPT said the UK government should act immediately, following a call by its arch-rival Anthropic to curb AI development.

“We support stronger UK rules for the handful of companies, including OpenAI, developing the most powerful AI systems,” said OpenAI’s head of policy in Europe, Tom Duff Gordon.

However, OpenAI said legislation should be narrowly focused on the most advanced AI labs and not startups working on less powerful systems.

In a separate interview with the online publication Politico, Duff Gordon said the government should “take advantage of this political window which is clearly opening up” to legislate.

OpenAI’s intervention came as a UK parliamentary committee demanded more restrictions on the power of AI, warning the world is unprepared for the “potentially dire” consequences of the technology, in the latest sign of rising global concern.

A new regulatory framework is needed for AI in the UK, including an independent oversight body and legislation to protect the public, according to the cross-party joint committee on human rights, comprising MPs and Lords.