Rishi Sunak wanted to impress Elon Musk as he giggled along during softball Q&A
Mid-interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Elon Musk began speculating that AI “friends” might be better than real-life ones.
Musk‘s proposition in front of an invited audience of business leaders was that supercomputers that use advanced algorithms to mimic human contact might present more attractive future companionship model for humanity than real-life living, breathing friends.
For some this might seem bleak, perhaps even worthy of challenge: yet Sunak – in his sharp suit and tie – laughed along Musk, in the jeans and T-shirt.
Politics latest: Musk criticises AI conference hours before Sunak meeting
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Both men agreed that, given what they had seen in the Terminator movies, an off-switch for robots that have gone wrong were a good idea.
This was not a moment for difficult questions.
“We feel very proud, very excited to have you,” said Rishi Sunak at the start of the event, which Downing Street has been speaking about in hushed tones for days.
Having Musk at the AI summit was undoubtedly a coup, lending an important significance to an event that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was heavily invested in.
But whether it was wise to allow Sunak to interview Musk on Thursday night – a 40-minute softball event where the PM seemed intent on impressing one of the most powerful unelected individuals in the globe – is an altogether different question.
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Musk is a controversial figure for a reason – his particular business interests – internet connectivity, space and manufacturing – mean his decisions can be inextricably intertwined – and can conflict – with Britain’s domestic and foreign policy goals.
Musk can offer internet services to Gaza that Israel has denied, via his Starlink satellite system. He can intervene in the Ukraine war to help or restrain Ukraine’s efforts against Russia. He has strong views on migration and the mainstream media.
Yet the power balance at the event in Lancaster House did not suggest this. Rishi Sunak looked like the one wanting to impress, selling low-tax Britain, espousing the need to embrace failure more readily, giggling along.
Sunak clearly wanted Musk’s blessing for the AI summit and its achievements: why?
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One tech company executive told a civil servant they see “time zones, not countries” now.
Sunak did little to dispel Elon of this impression.
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A former Conservative MP has said he felt “enormous guilt” when he found out he was the victim of a Westminster honeytrap scandal.
William Wragg resigned from the parliamentary party in April after he admitted giving out fellow politicians’ phone numbers to the suspected perpetrator of the sexting scam.
He said he felt threatened and pressured by the “catfish” after exchanging explicit photos with them.
Mr Wragg divulged the numbers to what he thought was a real person on a dating app, amid fears that the intimate images of himself would be leaked.
The former Tory party whip said he first saw news articles about the scandal when he was on a train.
The 36-year-old told the BBC: “My stomach just dropped.
“When I found out some of the things that had been going on, I just felt enormous guilt, enormous remorse.”
After the former Hazel Grove MP handed over the personal information, the catfish told Mr Wragg to vouch for their identity with their next potential victims, with the catfish telling their fresh targets they were a former researcher for Mr Wragg.
Mr Wragg agreed and this is what he feels “the most regret for” as it was “deceitful”.
Pic: PA
Panic attacks
After he was allegedly blackmailed, Mr Wragg started having panic attacks, with instances of yelling, crying, and swearing shocking his sleeping flatmates.
Police are investigating the scandal with at least 12 men with links to Westminster believed to have received unsolicited messages from the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi”.
The fake accounts were allegedly part of the scam to get MPs and other people in politics to send explicit images and other private or sensitive information.
Unlike others who were approached by the catfish accounts, Mr Wragg approached “Charlie” himself after spotting the profile on gay dating app Grindr.
And he thought the account was a real person before exchanging explicit photos with the catfish.
Suicidal thoughts
When the scandal broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for Mr Wragg.
He recounted photographers and the media camped outside his parents’ house, which is where he went to as he began to have suicidal thoughts.
Shortly after receiving medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign as Conservative whip and from his posts on two parliamentary committees.
He had already announced he would not run in the next general election.
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Man detained
In June, a member of the Labour Party aged in his mid-20s was apprehended in Islington, north London, on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
He has since been released on bail.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.
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