Exclusive: The British Public Wants Stricter AI Rules Than Its Government Does

Even as Silicon Valley races to build more powerful artificial intelligence models, public opinion on the other side of the Atlantic remains decidedly skeptical of the influence of tech CEOs when it comes to regulating the sector, with the vast majority of Britons worried about the safety of new AI systems. The concerns, highlighted in a new poll shared exclusively with TIME, come as world leaders and tech bosses--from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, France's Emmanuel Macron and India's Narendra Modi to OpenAI chief Sam Altman and Google's Sundar Pichai--prepare to gather in Paris next week to discuss the rapid pace of developments in AI. The new poll shows that 87% of Brits would back a law requiring AI developers to prove their systems are safe before release, with 60% in favor of outlawing the development of "smarter-than-human" AI models. Just 9%, meanwhile, said they trust tech CEOs to act in the public interest when discussing AI regulation. The survey was conducted by the British pollster YouGov on behalf of Control AI, a non-profit focused on AI risks.