Select committee calls for bill to address AI threat to human rights

A UK parliamentary committee has called for new legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, citing significant human rights risks. The report argues that current laws are insufficient and recommends the creation of an independent oversight body to manage high-risk AI systems.
Why it matters
This report highlights the growing global tension between rapid technological innovation and the need for legal frameworks to protect individual privacy and civil liberties.
Image source, Getty Images By Patrick Jackson Published 14 September 2026, 04:23 BST Updated 7 hours ago A cross-party group of MPs and peers has identified human rights risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), arguing existing laws are ill-equipped to address the technology's rapid growth.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) published a report calling for a new bill on AI to "address the scale and seriousness" of such threats.
"Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose," said Labour MP and committee chair Alex Sobel.
Labour education minister Georgia Gould said AI was creating opportunities but that it was critical the government was "responding to those risks" posed by the technology.
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