Britain’s technology secretary is backing driverless cars and Britain’s AI startups. Presumably, the next prime minister’s team is suspicious and has its own case.
Liz Kendall wants Britain to support its own AI companies before anyone else. a Filtered podcastUK science and technology secretary Kendall made a pointed case for self-driving cars. “We need to support British companies in this technology,” he said, “because if we don’t, we will be dependent on US companies.”
Warning has a purpose. The streets of London are about to host a robotaxi race with Alphabet Waymo and China’s Baidu are both launching. Kendall hailed British candidate Wave as a “brilliant British success story”. The startup is starting to test driverless taxis in London with Uber later this year.
A split with the next government?
His timing is no accident. Andy Burnham is the favorite to become Britain’s next prime minister. Last week, the Financial Times reported that his team wanted Update AI strategy. Its advisers are skeptical of a driverless launch, fearing it will cost taxi and Uber drivers their jobs. The report rocked the UK tech sector.
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Kendall didn’t pick a fight. He said he believes Burnham shares his vision. Artificial intelligence, he added, is at the heart of his plan to re-industrialize the country. But he drew a clear line at work. “We’re not like the Tories in the 80s and 90s who saw entire industries destroyed and people left to fend for themselves,” he said. The government, he added, would help workers through the transition.
He spoke frankly about his future. Kendall ran against Burnham for the leadership of the Labor Party in 2015. He said he would “love to stay” but the next prime minister will make the call. “I love this job,” he said.
Sovereignty Square
Kendall’s bigger theme was control. He believes that Britain is “truly third in the world” in artificial intelligence, behind the US and China. He wants to maintain this position. He pointed to a £500m Sovereign AI unit, a £1.1bn AI hardware plan and a £2bn quantum bet as evidence.
He considers it urgent. He called for the last step of the United States Limit access to Anthropic’s best models “moment of awakening”. His response is a push greater sovereign control. He hopes Britain can join the €5 billion EU Scaleup Fund. “Watch this space,” he said.
Why is it important?
He spoke more sharply about the fear of public anxiety. Technical leaders themselves warn about this half of entry-level white-collar jobs it could be gone within five years, the host pointed out. Kendall’s response was neither denial nor doom. “The choice is between capturing him and molding him to work for us or being left at his mercy,” he said. For now, it’s up to him whether or not he’s involved in shaping.
