Burnham pitches UK as 'honest broker' in AI governance at UN

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his United Nations General Assembly debut on Tuesday with a pitch to position the UK as a major player in global artificial intelligence, saying Britain can help broker international agreement on how the technology should be governed.

In his speech, Burnham said the UK could play a key role in tackling the world's biggest challenges, from the Middle East conflict to the rapid evolution of AI. He said it was possible to be "clear-eyed" about both the benefits and risks of the technology, and argued London was well placed to act as an "honest broker" because of its good relations with the US, its ties with Europe and its dialogue with China.

Burnham also sought to turn the page on a decade of Brexit-driven discord, saying Britain was moving on from the turbulence since the 2016 EU referendum. He was also scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump for the first time to urge stronger US support for Ukraine, and announced limited UK military support for Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks.