Britain is quietly seeking powers over foreign AI firms - UnHerd

UnHerd has published an article headlined "Britain is quietly seeking powers over foreign AI firms." The piece argues that Britain is dependent on US and Chinese developers for AI models, that it has limited leverage, and that regulatory friction is already delaying British access to frontier models. The excerpt does not name the government minister, department or proposed instrument involved.

The article cites research by the Centre for Governance on AI. That research found that 7% of model releases were delayed or withheld in the UK, compared with the US, while the figure for the EU was 11%. On those numbers, the UK's rate of delay or withholding sits below the EU's and above the US's. The 7% and 11% figures are the only quantitative comparison given in the excerpt. The excerpt does not identify which models were affected, which developers delayed or withheld them, or how long the delays lasted.

The excerpt states that Britain is quietly seeking powers over foreign AI firms, and frames this against the country's dependence on US and Chinese developers for the models themselves. It states that regulatory friction is already delaying British access to frontier models. The excerpt does not describe what specific powers are sought, whether they would apply to developers based outside the UK, what stage any proposal has reached, or what the cited research measured beyond delayed or withheld releases.