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The power of AI is worrying senior Labour figures – as is the fear of ‘falling behind the public’

The Guardian reports that, after the Labour conference, senior figures are privately naming AI as a top worry, citing an AI minister's warning on rogue agents, MI5's warning on bioweapons, and a committee hearing. It also records voices urging caution about slowing adoption.

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Why it matters

The same thing, for different readers.

What it means for you

Some of the people running the country say privately that AI worries them more than they let on in public, and that government may be behind public concern.

For lawmakers

Ministers face a tension between keeping access to US models, mandatory testing, and an open-source threat that guardrails do not cover, with the UK's G20 presidency named as a lever.

For researchers

An ex-AISI chief scientist says open-source models may already be powerful enough for serious damage, while another academic says the existential-risk case lacks evidence.

The question it raises

The piece sets fear of concentrated power in bad hands against the risk of being left behind, a question of who should hold AI power and how fast.

In their own words

Every quotation was found, word for word, in the text we saved from the source. That shows the words are there; it does not make them true, or prove the speaker meant them as quoted.

From the source’s own text.

“The reality is that the Starmer administration was much too close to the big tech companies”
Liam Byrne, chair of the business, innovation, science and trade committeeByrne explained to the Guardian why the UK government has become more focused on AI threats since the change of prime minister.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their words
“I think the government is still caught in a dilemma between how to keep model access, given a capricious US president, and the safeguards that the industry itself now says are essential.”
Liam Byrne, chair of the business, innovation, science and trade committeeByrne on the choice facing ministers after reports that the US asked AI companies not to share latest models with the UK's AI Security Institute.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their words
“It’s very likely that open source models are already powerful enough to do serious damage”
Geoffrey Irving, former chief scientist at AISIIrving, who spoke at the parliamentary hearing, told the Guardian open source would soon reach the capabilities of OpenAI and Anthropic products.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their words
“There are bigger, more immediate risks that AI technology is posing now and are actually evidenced, like hacking and signs that AI can be as addictive as social media”
Elena Simperl, co-director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at King’s College LondonSimperl argued the government should focus on immediate risks, saying the existential risk argument had no evidence behind it.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their words
“It was “not killer robots” causing the worry, they explained, but the idea of a huge amount of concentrated, super-intelligent power potentially ending up in the hands of bad actors.”
The GuardianThe Guardian's account of what an unnamed cabinet minister said keeps them awake at night.
Found word for word in the source

The record

Questions
Who can demand evidence, delay a release or stop an unsafe deployment? · How is AI used in attacks, defence and war? · Can AI systems act beyond what people intended or allowed?
People
Rowena Mason (Wrote it, Guardian reporter) · Dan Milmo (Wrote it, Guardian reporter) · Liam Byrne (Speaks, chair of the business, innovation, science and trade committee) · Geoffrey Irving (Speaks, former chief scientist at AISI) · Elena Simperl (Speaks, co-director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at King’s College London) · Gus O’Donnell (Speaks, former cabinet secretary) · Kanishka Narayan (Mentioned, AI minister) · Ken McCallum (Mentioned, director general of MI5) · Ed Miliband (Mentioned) · Andy Burnham (Mentioned)
What we read
We read the whole source.
Found by
The Radar, run of October 18, 2026, via the-guardian-ai (tier 2: a major outlet’s own reporting)
Cite this
The Guardian, “The power of AI is worrying senior Labour figures – as is the fear of ‘falling behind the public’”, October 17, 2026. Entry in the Ctrl AI Base, https://ctrlai.com/base/guardian-2026-10-17-labour-figures-ai-worry
Our notesThe cabinet minister and other senior Labour figures are unnamed in the source; the cabinet minister's remarks are the Guardian's report of private comments. The Guardian says the committee's AI companies were split on mandatory testing but does not say which.