{"id":415295,"date":"2026-04-28T18:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/415295\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:51:09","slug":"uk-must-seize-initiative-on-ai-or-be-left-at-its-mercy-liz-kendall-says-ai-artificial-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/415295\/","title":{"rendered":"UK must seize initiative on AI or be left at its mercy, Liz Kendall says | AI (artificial intelligence)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain must seize the initiative on artificial intelligence or be left at the \u201cmercy and whim\u201d of a future shaped by the technology, Liz Kendall<\/a> has said.<\/p>\n

The technology secretary said the country must have greater control over the industry as she highlighted big tech\u2019s grip on its development, with 70% of the world\u2019s AI computing power provided by US companies.<\/p>\n

In a speech on the UK\u2019s ability to develop its own capabilities, Kendall said: \u201cThe choice isn\u2019t between a world that has AI and one that does not. It is a choice between a world where we shape our AI future, based on our own interests and values, or where we are left at its mercy and whim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kendall highlighted the launch this month of a state AI investment fund<\/a> as evidence of Labour\u2019s support for domestic firms, and revealed the government was drawing up a plan to become more influential in designing and manufacturing the chips that power AI systems.<\/p>\n

The MP for Leicester West spoke amid concerns the UK was struggling to make its own way with the technology, despite producing a stream of academic talent and being the base for companies such as the UK-founded Google DeepMind<\/a>. Last week Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister and, until recently, a senior Silicon Valley executive, said the UK was \u201cwithout a single steam engine\u201d in the AI revolution<\/a> owing to factors such as high energy costs and an unresolved row over copyright.<\/p>\n

OpenAI, the US startup behind ChatGPT, has paused a multi-billion dollar datacentre project in the UK, citing high energy costs and regulation. The Guardian revealed<\/a> recently that many of the deals to \u201cmainline AI into the veins\u201d of the British economy were \u201cphantom investments\u201d, and a supercomputer scheduled to go live in 2026 was still a scaffolding yard in Essex.<\/p>\n

Kendall singled out datacentres as an example of concentration in the AI market, with five US companies \u2013 Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle \u2013 controlling 70% of global AI computing, up from 60% a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cControl of this incredibly powerful technology is becoming increasingly concentrated,\u201d she said, adding that the UK \u201cmust shape this technology, not just be shaped by it\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, Kendall said a push for AI sovereignty should not be seen as \u201cweakening our deep, close and enduring relationship with the US\u201d, the home of leading AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kendall said calls to pause AI development would be a \u201cbetrayal of British talent and British interests\u201d. In December, MPs at a Westminster Hall debate were urged to consider calls by the campaign group PauseAI for a hiatus in developing powerful AI systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would send a message that Britain is closed to new ideas and new opportunities; that a country so rich in talent, innovation and enterprise has put an \u2018out of office\u2019 sign on its front door,\u201d said Kendall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we retreat from progress we retreat from the world, leaving this powerful technology to be exploited by other nations to their advantage and our disadvantage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain must seize the initiative on artificial intelligence or be left at the \u201cmercy and whim\u201d of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[345,343,344,85,46,125],"class_list":["post-415295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}