UK Government Rejects Emergency Shutdown Proposal for AI Models

The UK government has declined to adopt an amendment that would allow authorities to order an emergency shutdown of AI models. The Cabinet Office, which leads the country's AI safety efforts, said the UK cannot resolve AI risks simply by “switching things off,” because cutting access within the country would not prevent models from being developed or misused elsewhere.

The amendment, introduced by lawmakers on September 1, sought to give the government a “last resort” power: if a highly autonomous frontier AI system posed an urgent and substantive threat to national security, the government could order the model to be shut down and even cut power to the data centers running it. Supporters stressed the power would only be used in extreme circumstances.

The decision highlights the broader challenge of regulating AI across borders, as AI development and deployment remain highly globalized and unilateral controls have inherent limits.