Artificial Intelligence: Legislation

Lord Beamish Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

The Ministry of Defence has set out guidance for the adoption of AI in defence. I am afraid that I cannot recall the name of the document—I will need to write to the noble and gallant Lord with that—but it sets out exactly where humans should be involved in defence decision-making. The ministry has consulted and it has expert panels advising it on its approach.

[Lord Beamish (Lab)]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that AI is going to be transformational, but the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton, raises a very important point about warfare, where it is going to be transformational and not necessarily for the good. I hear what my noble friend says about the MoD, but this will have to be approached on an international basis. We also have to recognise that some of our adversaries will not be concerned about regulation. Is that not a challenge that we should face now?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

My noble friend is right that AI is transforming the military and defence. It is indeed incredibly important that we work internationally. Last week, the UKAC co-ordinated the most recent meeting of the International Network for Advanced AI Measurement, Evaluation and Science, where we are working together with other countries’ ACs on best practices for model evaluations, using that expertise to build tangible international consensus to mitigate AI risks.