# Establish an AI Safety Institute in the UK

> “I can announce that we will establish the world’s first AI Safety Institute – right here in the UK.”
>
> — Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister, Conservative Party; Speech on AI, 26 October 2023

- **Status:** Delivered
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Running government](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/running-government)
- **Speaker:** [Rishi Sunak](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/rishi-sunak), Prime Minister
- **Party:** [Conservative Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/conservatives)
- **Made on:** 26 October 2023
- **Where:** Speech on AI
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** The public, and the companies and governments building advanced AI, whose models the institute would test for safety
- **When:** Not stated
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-speech-on-ai-26-october-2023 (checked word for word at its source on 20 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 21 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-ai-safety-institute-2023

## Where it stands

The AI Safety Institute was launched on 2 November 2023, at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, a week after the speech. It grew out of the Frontier AI Taskforce, with Ian Hogarth as its chair. On 14 February 2025 the next government renamed it the UK AI Security Institute and gave it a team on the criminal misuse of AI.

## Timeline

- 26 October 2023, Promised: The Prime Minister says the UK will set up an AI Safety Institute
- 2 November 2023, Delivered: The AI Safety Institute launches at the AI Safety Summit, with companies and countries including the US and Singapore agreeing to work with it ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-launches-new-ai-safety-institute))

## About the cost

No figure in the speech.

## Sources

- [Prime Minister's Office: Prime Minister's speech on AI, 26 October 2023](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-speech-on-ai-26-october-2023)
- [Prime Minister's Office and DSIT: Prime Minister launches new AI Safety Institute (2 Nov 2023)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-launches-new-ai-safety-institute)
- [DSIT: Tackling AI security risks to unleash growth and deliver Plan for Change (14 Feb 2025)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tackling-ai-security-risks-to-unleash-growth-and-deliver-plan-for-change)

## Checks

- Verified by Pavel Guzhikov, checked by AI Journalist; approved on 21 October 2026.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 20 October 2026.

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