The US government’s decision to ban foreigners from using Anthropic’s latest, super-powerful AI models is a stark warning for Britain.
The export control directive cites unspecified “national security” concerns and comes in the wake of a long-running dispute between Donald Trump and the US tech giant. But whatever underpins the decision, it exposes perhaps our most alarming strategic vulnerability.
Artificial Intelligence could transform our economy at a scale and speed greater even than the Industrial Revolution. But whereas Britain led the way in the 19th century, we risk being a vassal state in the twenty-first.
Cutting-edge AI models such as Anthropic’s will power innovations in everything from the military to medicine. If we cannot access them, the consequences will likely be dire. Our capacity to innovate would be severely limited. Our international competitiveness would suffer. Our defence systems would run on obsolescent software, endangering the country.
Mr Trump’s decision must be a wake-up call to Britain’s governing class. Rather than attempting to relive the 1970s by bringing in price caps and ever higher taxes, Labour must unshackle the nation’s entrepreneurial spirit and allow our own AI sector to flourish. At the very least this will attract American companies to invest here. At best, we might develop our own AI models and be able to stand separate from America or China.
For Britain already has a relatively strong hand to play. Our AI sector is the third biggest in the world. Our universities consistently produce world-leading research. Access to venture capital is relatively easy. Our talent pool is deep and the AI Safety Institute, established by the Conservative government, sets the standards others follow. Brexit means we are free from the leaden hand of EU regulation, which suppresses tech innovation.
Yet rather than adding to the cards we already have, Labour seems more keen to throw them away.
Energy needs to be cheap and plentiful, in order to power the data centres vital to AI. But Labour’s perverse net zero obsession means British businesses now face the highest electricity costs in the developed world. This poses an existential threat to our AI industry.
Add to this a pernicious tax regime and a planning system designed to slow things down, and Britain appears an increasingly unattractive place for technology firms. It is little surprise that, earlier this year, OpenAI decided to postpone its flagship investment here, citing “regulation and the cost of energy”.
Labour must address this as a matter of national urgency. Taxes should be cut, red tape unwound, and the party’s net zero zealotry renounced. Only then will Britain be able to shape the future, rather than be buffeted by it.