The world “may not have time” to prepare for the safety risks posed by cutting-edge AI systems, according to a leading figure at the UK government’s scientific research agency. David Dalrymple, a programme director and AI safety expert at the Aria agency, told the Guardian people should be concerned about the growing capability of the technology. Describing the consequences of technological progress getting ahead of safety as a “destabilisation of security and economy”, Dalrymple said more technical work was needed on understanding and controlling the behaviours of advanced AI systems. AISI also found that the most advanced systems can autonomously complete tasks that would take a human expert over an hour. The institute also tested advanced models for self-replication, a key safety concern because it involves a system spreading copies of itself to other devices and becoming harder to control.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2026 21:30 UTC