It is time everyone - especially  our leaders - faced up to the terrifying threat AI poses to humanity

Published: 20:28, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 20:28, 23 July 2026 ALTHOUGH this week’s artificial intelligence scare came out of the blue, it was hardly a complete surprise. No one can say that we haven’t received ample notice of the terrifying threat from AI. Among the distinguished individuals to highlight the dangers was the late Sir Stephen Hawking, who warned more than a decade ago that the technology could ‘spell the end of the human race’. Other experts have acknowledged that it poses the same sort of risk to humanity as nuclear war and global pandemics. In some respects, it is a relief that this instance – in which a rogue AI model broke free from a testing area and hacked into another firm’s data – does not appear to have involved any malicious intent. But if this is what can happen by accident – for want of a better term – it hardly bears thinking about the possible consequences if there was a deliberate plot involving so-called ‘bad actors’. From what we have learnt, the possibilities go beyond anything that even the most fertile minds in science fiction could dream up. It is entirely conceivable in this corner of the world alone, for example, that we could see every NHS hospital paralysed, vast sums of money extracted from the Bank of England or even worse calamities. It is clear that Andy Burnham has failed to grasp the enormity of the situation, given his decision - to borrow Kemi Badenoch’s words - to ‘put one guy in Cabinet to look at AI’ Given the scale of the threat, it is blindingly obvious that a single international regime is needed to replace the existing network of standalone regulators. It is also clear that Andy Burnham has failed to grasp the enormity of the situation, given his decision - to borrow Kemi Badenoch’s words - to ‘put one guy in Cabinet to look at AI’. The world has just had an extremely frightening wake-up call. The Prime Minister needs to realise that we may not be so lucky next time. IT IS difficult to fault the Tory leader’s observation that Mr Burnham’s Cabinet ministers are ‘not the people that are going to turn the country around’. For starters, the front bench has more than its share of individuals whose employment history is largely restricted to trade unions, the not-for-profit sector or the Labour Party itself. The PM’s own career, apart from a three-year spell on the payroll of a trade magazine after leaving university, has almost entirely centred on unions and the political merry-go-round. Yet if the Cabinet has little practical knowledge of the working world as most people experience it, an even bigger concern is its lack of business expertise. That there was a decidedly lukewarm response to the rates cut for pubs and clubs was hardly surprising. The savings will be rendered meaningless by the crippling increases in National Insurance contributions and youth minimum wage rates already introduced under Labour. BY loudly offering to pay more tax, Gary Lineker is indulging in an activity at which he excels – competitive virtue-signalling. Observers remark that there is absolutely nothing to stop him from quietly writing a cheque or making a bank transfer directly to His Majesty’s Treasury. In fact, there is even a helpful link on the government website for anyone with a few extra quid to throw into the state coffers. For Mr Lineker’s convenience, he will find it here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/voluntary-payments-donations-to-government.