40 UK MPs call for superintelligence ban

Summary

40 British MPs have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The letter references the Artificial Superintelligence Safety Act framework proposed by Alex Sobel in September 2026, urging the UK to support an international ban on superintelligent AI.

Why it matters

This development indicates that safety advocacy is shifting from a marginal niche to mainstream legislative pressure in the UK. According to the report, over 130 British MPs and more than 30 Canadian legal professionals support this initiative. This situation carries the risk of shaping international norms around superintelligence before the technology's capabilities are even defined. Ultimately, a regulatory stance that prioritizes caution over competitiveness could become entrenched. The event also highlights the structural tension between Europe's relative lag in AI development and its loud calls for the strictest global rules.

Highlights

• The letter cites Alex Sobel's 'Artificial Superintelligence Safety Act' from September 8 as the world's first proposed superintelligence ban. Stuart Russell and Daniel Kokotajlo also support this initiative.
• Broad support is demonstrated by a cross-party coalition comprising over 130 UK MPs and more than 30 Canadian legal professionals.
• In a subsequent development within a day, it was observed that over 70 MPs individually requested the Prime Minister to support a superintelligence ban law.

Critical take

A post on the X platform criticizes Europe for demanding the strictest AI regulations while producing the least. This raises the question of whether this is a principled safety concern or a competitive cheat dressed up as ethics. An editorial score of 54/100 and the letter's reliance on a single untested legislative template (Sobel's ASIA) suggest that the policy foundation is much weaker than the political momentum implies.