UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce a new partnership with the US on AI defence.
Burnham will announce the partnership at the United Nations General Assembly, calling on countries to collaborate to use AI to improve everyday life as well as security.
In his first multinational address as PM, Burnham will announce that the UK’s Defence Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce will partner with the Digital and AI office of the US Department of War to improve “the delivery of trusted, interoperable capabiliites that enhance deterrence.”
Burnham is also expected to discuss how AI can improve the cost of living crisis, which continues to blight the UK.
“When the global financial crisis hit, the UK brought together the world’s leading economies. As we confront the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, we will show that same leadership,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
“That ambition is underlined in our new defence partnership with the United States on AI and autonomy, bringing together the brightest minds to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure, deter those who threaten our security, and use the enormous potential of AI to our advantage.”
While the UK has maintained its “special” relationship with the US despite its recent torrent of PM changes, tech has been a sticking point between the two nations.
US President Dondal Trump as well as members of his cabinet and party have shot out against UK and EU attempts to regulate large US tech companies, their monopolistic tendancies, and data privacy practices.
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Burnham has also transformed some of the inner workings of the UK’s technology department, scrapping the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology, relegating technology and innovation to a business department, and launching the position of AI minister.
As AI continues to be lauded and pushed in the UK and US, concerns are rising about the security risks of the technology as defences may not be keeping up with developing capabilities.





