Anthropic · OpenAI · United Kingdom · The Guardian Technology
The power of AI is worrying senior Labour figures, as is the fear of ‘falling behind the public’
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“I have this sense that, within a few months, AI is going to be all anyone is talking about,” said one cabinet minister, with an ominous stare.
Key facts
- Liam Byrne, the chair of the business, innovation, science and trade committee, said the change of government from Keir Starmer to Burnham was partly behind the increased focus on protecting the UK
- Geoffrey Irving, the former chief scientist at AISI who spoke at this week’s parliamentary hearing, believes Whitehall concerns are justified
- A flurry of activity started on Monday with Kanishka Narayan, the AI minister, stating it was “likely, if not inevitable” that rogue agents would hack the British state, and saying the UK was looking
- The UK’s upcoming G20 presidency will be the key moment to push for international action to rein in AI
Summary
It was Labour conference, with everyone from ministers to activists jubilant at Andy Burnham’s takeover and a bounce in the polls after the change of leader. But several senior Labour figures were privately starting to name the power of AI as the thing worrying them most, alongside the immediate pressures on the cost of living and fragile economy. One cabinet minister, with a brief unrelated to technology, told the Guardian that dangerous, out-of-control AI was the issue keeping them up at night, fretting about the threat to humanity. Another expressed concern that the government was “falling behind the public” in terms of dealing with worries about AI safety, and that it needed to catch up fast.