The Artificial Superintelligence Bill received its First Reading in the House of Commons on 8 September 2026. Alex Sobel, Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and Headingley, introduced it as a Private Member's Bill under the Ten Minute Rule in the 2026-27 session. Parliament has listed the Bill for Second Reading on 13 November 2026. First Reading in the Commons is a formal stage without debate or division, so no substantive parliamentary decision on the Bill has been taken.
The long title states the purpose of the Bill as being to prohibit the development, deployment and operation of artificial superintelligence systems, to establish monitoring and control powers in respect of such systems, and for connected purposes. Parliament records it as Bill 4288 of the 2026-27 session, originating in the House of Commons. The reach of any prohibition would turn on how the Bill defines an artificial superintelligence system, which is a matter for the text once it is before the House.
Developers of frontier models with a United Kingdom presence, and the compute and cloud providers hosting their training runs, are the parties a prohibition drawn in these terms would reach. Companies with UK research operations should hold 13 November 2026 as the first date on which the Commons may debate the measure. Investors running diligence on UK artificial intelligence companies will want the published text, because the statutory definition sets the regulatory perimeter and determines whether a given model programme sits inside or outside it.
Two dates govern the timetable. First Reading took place on 8 September 2026, and Second Reading is listed for 13 November 2026. A Private Member's Bill introduced under the Ten Minute Rule advances only where parliamentary time is made available at Second Reading, so 13 November 2026 is the point at which the Bill either moves forward or stalls within the session.
Licentium advises artificial intelligence developers, compute providers and investors on United Kingdom and European Union artificial intelligence regulation. Work we undertake includes legislative tracking and impact analysis for Bills before Parliament, classification of artificial intelligence systems, regulatory perimeter opinions, and allocation of compliance risk by contract between model developers and deployers.
Source: Artificial Superintelligence Bill, Bill 4288, Session 2026-27, UK Parliament