Chadwick: Our future cannot be left to a cartel of tech billionaires
Welsh Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader David Chadwick MP has warned that the future of artificial intelligence cannot be left in the hands of a small group of billionaire “tech bros”, as the Liberal Democrats called for new international safeguards on the development of super-intelligent AI.
The intervention follows the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Brighton, where party leader Ed Davey warned that rapid advances in artificial intelligence risk concentrating unprecedented power in the hands of a small number of technology companies and their billionaire owners.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a global treaty to pause the development of super-intelligent AI while an international system of safeguards is established, arguing that the potential risks posed by the technology require cooperation between governments rather than an international race to develop increasingly powerful systems.
The party is also proposing the creation of a new International AI Safety Agency, headquartered in the UK and modelled on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The new body would bring countries together to oversee the development of the most powerful AI systems and prevent companies or governments from recklessly developing super-intelligent AI without appropriate safeguards.
The Liberal Democrats have compared the need for international cooperation on the most advanced forms of AI to the approach taken towards nuclear technology, arguing that technologies with potentially global consequences cannot be effectively regulated by individual countries acting alone.
The party has also criticised plans for greater UK reliance on AI cooperation with the United States, warning that this risks leaving Britain increasingly dependent on a small number of major American technology companies.
At the same time, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have stressed that AI could bring major benefits, including helping to develop new medical treatments, boosting productivity and supporting scientific discoveries. They argue that regulation should ensure those benefits are widely shared rather than allowing the development of AI to further concentrate economic and political power.
David Chadwick, Welsh Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, said:
“Artificial intelligence could bring extraordinary benefits, from developing new treatments and growing our economy to making everyday life easier. We should be excited about those opportunities and ambitious about making the most of them.
“But we cannot simply hand over decisions about technology this powerful to a handful of tech billionaires in California and hope they act in everyone else’s interests.
“People like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman already have extraordinary influence over the technology and online spaces that increasingly shape our economies, our politics and our daily lives. An unchecked race towards ever more powerful AI risks concentrating even more power in even fewer hands.
“This is fundamentally a question of who holds power and who gets a say. Decisions that could reshape our economy and society should not be made in Silicon Valley boardrooms with the rest of us expected to live with the consequences.
“That is why we need countries to work together, establish proper safeguards and make sure nobody can recklessly race ahead.
“Britain and Wales should embrace innovation and the enormous opportunities AI can offer, but technological progress has to work for everyone. Our future belongs to all of us, not a cartel of tech bros.”
ENDS