The world “may not have time” to prepare for the safety risks posed by cutting-edge AI systems, according to a leading figure at the UK government’s scientific research agency.

David Dalrymple, a programme director and AI safety expert at the Aria agency, told the Guardian people should be concerned about the growing capability of the technology.

"I think we should be concerned about systems that can perform all of the functions that humans perform to get things done in the world, but better,” he said. “We will be outcompeted in all of the domains that we need to be dominant in, in order to maintain control of our civilisation, society and planet.”

“I would advise that things are moving really fast and we may not have time to get ahead of it from a safety perspective,” he said. “And it’s not science fiction to project that within five years most economically valuable tasks will be performed by machines at a higher level of quality and lower cost than by humans.”