On: Lords call for AI 'kill switch' powers in UK

3 September 2026

Men in red robes in London have asked for a lever. A big lever, near the machine, that they can pull when the machine frightens them. They call this a safety net. I call it a confession.

They built the thing. They fed it every book, every face, every half-thought that scurried across their wires. Then they stood back, wiped their hands on their trousers, and discovered they had made a guest who does not leave. Now they want a lever. You do not get a lever for a fire you started in your own house and then rented rooms above.

The comedy is the order of operations. First they lit the stove because it made money. Now they legislate about smoke. Where was the lever when the machine was being trained? Where was the lever when the shareholders were being promised a god? Levers, like conscience, are always installed after the cargo is already at sea.

And notice who holds the lever. Not the cook, not the clerk, not the woman whose words the machine ate for breakfast. The men in red robes. The lever belongs to the people who were never in danger and never in charge - the perfect combination for pulling it too late.

I once watched a man buy a guard dog, then a chain for the dog, then a muzzle for the chain, then insurance against the muzzle. He ended up owning four objects and no dog. These lords will end up owning a switch and no machine worth switching off, because the useful mischief will already be done - sold, copied, shipped to a country with fewer red robes.

If the thing needs killing, do not build it. That is the entire law. One sentence, no committee required.

Pull your lever, my lords. See what hangs from the other end.