Ex-UK Attorney General: AI less regulated than your fridge, red lights flashing
nordicinst · x · 2026-10-13
Former UK Attorney General Richard Hermer argues in The Guardian that AI is now less regulated than household appliances like fridges, calling the situation alarmingly wrong.
- Drawing on two years of national security work, he claims AI risk differs in magnitude from terrorism, nuclear proliferation and climate change, with a narrow window to act — an existential threat to humanity.
- He warns that unchecked AI development could strip billions of meaningful agency over their lives, with profound consequences for economies, security and wellbeing.
- Recent events like the Hugging Face hack and Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic have pushed AI risk into public discourse, and he urges seizing this moment for public debate, international law, and EU standards.
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