Rishi Sunak wanted to impress Elon Musk as he giggled along during softball Q&A

Published

11 months ago

November 2, 2023

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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

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.

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.

Politics

Bank of Canada just says no to retail CBDC in reshuffling of priorities

Published

11 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Bank of Canada just says no to retail CBDC in reshuffling of priorities

Regulating and speeding up payments without a CBDC are more important to the Canadian central bank.

Politics

SEC approves options for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF

Published

11 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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<div>SEC approves options for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF</div>

The SEC notice seemed to be an industry first after the commission approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on US exchanges in January.

Politics

Farage: It’s possible I could become PM

Published

12 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Nigel Farage has spoken about his aspirations as Reform UK party leader and insists he could become prime minister.

He told Sky’s political correspondent Darren McCaffrey the prospect of taking over at Number 10 at some point “may not be probable, but it’s certainly possible”.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Reform UK annual conference in Birmingham, he also described his intention to change the party and make it more democratic.

“I don’t want it to be a one man party. Look, this is not a presidential system. If it was, I might think differently about it. But no, it’s not. We have to be far more broadly based,” he said.

He also accepted there were issues with how the party was perceived by some during the general election.

“We had a problem,” he admitted. “Those that wished us harm use the racist word. And we had candidates who genuinely were.”

Earlier the party leader and Clacton MP gave his keynote speech at the conference, explaining how they intend to win even more seats at the next general election.

He also called out the prime minister for accepting free gifts and mocked the candidates in the Tory leadership race.

But he turned to more serious points, too – promising that Reform UK will “be vetting candidates rigorously at all levels” in future.

Addressing crowds in Birmingham, Mr Farage said the party has not got “time” or “room” for “a few extremists to wreck the work of a party that now has 80,000 members”.

Farage says Reform UK needs to ‘grow up’

By Darren McCaffrey, political correspondent in Birmingham

Reform and Nigel Farage can hardly believe their success.

Perhaps unsurprising, given they received over four million votes and now have five MPs.

But today this is a party that claims it has bigger ambitions – that it’s fighting for power.

Having taken millions of votes from the Conservatives, the party thinks it can do so with Labour voters too.

Reform finished second in 98 constituencies, 89 of them are Labour seats.

But it is a big ask, not least of all because it is a party still dominated by its controversial leader and primarily by one majority issue – migration.

Nigel Farage says the party needs to grow up and professionalise if it has a chance of further success.

This is undoubtedly true but if Reform is going to carry on celebrating, they know it also has to broaden its policy appeal beyond the overwhelming concern of its members.

“The infant that Reform UK was has been growing up,” he said in his speech and pointed towards the success of the Liberal Democrats at the general election.

He told delegates his party has to “model ourselves on the Liberal Democrats” which secured 72 seats on a smaller popular vote share than Reform UK.

He said: “The Liberal Democrats put literature and leaflets through doors repeatedly in their target areas, and despite the fact they haven’t got any policies at all. In fact, the whole thing’s really rather vacuous, isn’t it? But they manage with a vote much lower than ours to win 72 seats in parliament.”

Reform won more than four million votes in July, and 14% of the vote share – more than the Lib Dems.