Andy Burnham urged the world to unite over AI risks last night – but delivered his big speech to a sparsely attended UN chamber.

The PM made his debut at the general assembly session in New York, backing coordinated regulation of the emerging technology.

But he did not appear to be much of a draw for the delegates, with swathes of seats remaining empty.

The turnout was in contrast to that for Donald Trump earlier, with the President giving a typically bombastic assessment of his own achievements and threatening to wipe out Iran.

French president Emmanuel Macron also seemed to attract a slightly larger crowd – although with dozens of leaders giving speeches the hall can often be relatively bare. Mr Burnham was speaking in the evening session. 

Keir Starmer had a similar experience when he addressed UNGA in 2024, and Boris Johnson did not fare any better. 

In his speech, Mr Burnham said global action was needed following a string of warnings that AI technology could pose a threat to life if it is allowed to continue developing at breakneck speed.

He said the future of artificial intelligence was 'too important' to be left to the private sector and urged leaders to agree a set of common global rules.

The stance puts him on a collision course with Mr Trump, who has railed against the idea of regulation.

Senior figures in the tech industry have issued a series of alarming warnings in recent weeks. The head of alignment at Anthropic, behind the Claude AI tool, said there was a 10 per cent chance that the technology could 'kill all humans' within the next decade.

But Mr Trump dismissed warnings about the threat to life from AI as a 'hoax' designed to dent the lead of US firms in the race to produce what he yesterday branded 'super intelligence'.

Mr Burnham said AI had the power to transform the economy and cure diseases such as cancer if it was properly regulated to serve human interests.

But he added: 'We know that AI will also be a source of disruption to the way we live and work – and a multiplier of risk. We've all heard the warnings, which we must heed. I know how worried people are. So we have to rise to this moment.

'Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to

chance. They must be taken by elected governments who serve working people. And we need to give people the support they need through this change – ensuring that it becomes an engine for reindustrialisation and opportunity as well.'