Welsh MP warns AI future cannot be left to ‘cartel of tech billionaires’

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh MP has warned against allowing a small group of technology billionaires to wield increasing power over the development of artificial intelligence.

David Chadwick, the Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, made the comments as his party called for an international treaty to pause the development of so-called super-intelligent AI until global safeguards are established.

The proposal was set out at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference in Brighton, where party leader Sir Ed Davey warned that increasingly powerful AI could concentrate unprecedented power in the hands of a small number of technology companies and their owners.

The party wants governments to establish an International AI Safety Agency, based in the UK and modelled on the International Atomic Energy Agency, to oversee the development of the most powerful systems.

It argues that the potential consequences of advanced AI mean individual countries cannot regulate the technology effectively on their own.

The Liberal Democrats have also raised concerns about the UK’s reliance on major overseas technology companies. A party policy paper published this week said 55% of central government organisations host more than 60% of their digital infrastructure on cloud services supplied by just two US technology giants.

Mr Chadwick said AI could deliver significant benefits but argued decisions about its development should not be left to technology companies.

He said: “Artificial intelligence could bring extraordinary benefits, from developing new treatments and growing our economy to making everyday life easier.

“We should be excited about those opportunities and ambitious about making the most of them.

“But we cannot simply hand over decisions about technology this powerful to a handful of tech billionaires in California and hope they act in everyone else’s interests.

“People like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman already have extraordinary influence over the technology and online spaces that increasingly shape our economies, our politics and our daily lives.

“An unchecked race towards ever more powerful AI risks concentrating even more power in even fewer hands.”

Mr Chadwick said the issue was ultimately about who controlled the technology.

He added: “This is fundamentally a question of who holds power and who gets a say.

“Decisions that could reshape our economy and society should not be made in Silicon Valley boardrooms with the rest of us expected to live with the consequences.

“That is why we need countries to work together, establish proper safeguards and make sure nobody can recklessly race ahead.”

Safeguards

Sir Ed told the Brighton conference that AI, if managed effectively, could help develop treatments for diseases, make work easier and enable new scientific discoveries.

But he argued international safeguards were needed for the most advanced systems, comparing the challenge with international cooperation over nuclear technology.

The Liberal Democrats’ proposals would seek to pause the development of super-intelligent AI while an international regulatory system was established.

The party has stressed that it does not oppose AI more broadly and wants the UK to take advantage of its potential economic and scientific benefits.

Mr Chadwick said: “Britain and Wales should embrace innovation and the enormous opportunities AI can offer, but technological progress has to work for everyone.

“Our future belongs to all of us, not a cartel of tech bros.”

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