Labour has accused Rishi Sunak of using his interview with Elon Musk to position himself for a job after Downing Street, after criticism that the prime minister allowed the billionaire to overshadow his AI safety summit.
Sunak rushed from Bletchley Park to central London after the summit to interview Musk on stage in an event that critics said made the prime minister look weak in the face of corporate power.
During the event, Musk predicted that AI would eventually take everybody’s jobs, that people faced a threat from “humanoid robots” and that one of the biggest upsides from the technology would be that people would be able to make AI friends.
His comments have since dominated the news agenda, overtaking an agreement signed by the world’s biggest AI companies that could lead to a slowdown in the race to develop systems that can compete with humans.
Peter Kyle, the shadow technology secretary, said on Friday: “The AI summit was an opportunity for the UK to lead the global debate on how we regulate this powerful new technology for good. Instead, the prime minister has been left behind by the US and EU who are moving ahead with real safeguards on the technology.
“Unfortunately, Rishi Sunak again allowed himself to be distracted from the serious issues at hand, perhaps with one eye on his future career.” » | Kiran Stacey, Political correspondent | Friday, November 3, 2023
Elon must have felt very flattered to be brown-nosed by the prime minister of the United Kingdom! But people will do anything for a lucrative hobble in retirement. Rishi Sunak is clearly no exception. – © Mark Alexander
