Mr. Burnham said recent years have seen “an industrial-scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment” in both the UK and many of its allies.
He told world leaders that “Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears”, including through the use of bots, fake websites and falsified news articles.
Election interference, AI threat
“They’ve amplified far right narratives. And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 General Election,” he alleged. “We also know that they have tried to stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events.”
False information shared online helped to spark riots following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in the town of Southport in July 2024.
Mr. Burnham maintained that the Kremlin spends roughly $1.7 billion “on manipulating information”, noting that British companies and institutions have also suffered cyber-attacks.
“And we know that AI will multiply the threat,” he added.
Fighting disinformation, shoring up security
The Prime Minister said the UK will establish a new National Centre for Information Defence that will detect, attribute and disrupt information attacks while supporting and defending its democracy.
The UK will also use its experience to help other countries, having assisted Moldova with protecting elections against alleged Russian interference.
“As more elections approach across Europe, more nations are grappling with these issues – some for the first time,” he said.
“So, we’re ready to share our understanding of how these actors work, and how we can respond – because this is vital for our collective security and resilience.”
UK-US partnership on AI
On artificial intelligence, Mr. Burnham described Frontier AI – the cutting edge of the technology – as “one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our age”.
He announced that the UK is developing a new AI defence partnership with the United States to protect critical national infrastructure.
Support for global AI principles
He stressed that fundamental decisions on AI “are too important to be left to chance” and “must be taken by elected governments who serve working people.”
In this regard, the UK will bring the right people together to deliver on the potential of AI for good while also dealing with the risks.
“And we will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness – and to ensure that AI development is safe,” he said.
The UN continues to uphold that the best way to address AI risks is to bring countries together to adopt shared principles and commitments on AI governance.
