PauseAI UK's first year: 63 MPs signed, conferences, largest AI protest

One year ago, Joseph Miller was running PauseAI UK largely alone, with protests drawing under 50 people and zero political support. Today, the organization has grown into a coordinated force: two major conferences, an open letter co-signed by 63 UK politicians, the world's largest AI protest, and direct influence on parliamentary debates. The group’s first conference, PauseCon London, trained 60 volunteers from around the globe—sparking a German petition signed by 150 professors. A subsequent open letter to Google DeepMind, signed by dozens of MPs, pressured the company to grant the UK AI Security Institute pre-deployment access to Gemini 3 Pro.

In December 2025, PauseAI UK proposed and helped orchestrate a Westminster Hall debate on AI safety, drafting memos and speeches for MPs. The following February, PauseCon Brussels brought advocates to the European Parliament, featuring EU AI Act architect Brando Benifei MEP, professor Stuart Russell, and Vice-President Victor Negrescu MEP. Benifei argued the EU AI Act’s code of practice should extend to internal deployment at AI companies—a position PauseAI now aims to help implement. These milestones show how grassroots organizing can translate into tangible policy pressure and regulatory progress.