UK plans disinformation centre and global AI standards push

The UK will create a National Centre for Information Defence to detect and disrupt AI-enabled disinformation campaigns by hostile states, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the UN General Assembly in New York City. Burnham accused Russia of using bots, fake websites and forged media to spread division, saying the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion each year on manipulating information and has falsified newspaper articles and forged the branding of 28 British organisations.

The centre will work with intelligence agencies, government departments, law enforcement and social media companies to coordinate action against information warfare. Burnham also referenced the 2019 UK general election, where the government previously said Russia almost certainly sought to interfere. Russia did not immediately comment, though Moscow has previously dismissed similar UK allegations as Russophobia.

Burnham said advanced frontier AI is both a driver of economic growth and a multiplier of risk. He pledged to put AI at the heart of the UK’s G20 Presidency next year and work toward global principles covering transparency, access to models and safe development, while pointing to the UK AI Security Institute’s testing of major models.

The push comes amid pressure from UK opposition parties and calls for stronger rules, including mandatory pre-release testing. A Norway-backed declaration supported by more than 20 countries calls for AI to remain under human control, but it has not been signed by the US, China or the UK.