In the coming AI future, Britain must not end up at the mercy of US tech giants | Rafael Behr
Liz Kendall, the UK's science, innovation and technology secretary, has warned that Britain risks becoming dependent on a small number of powerful US tech companies in the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence. She advocates for greater technological sovereignty through cooperation among democratic 'middle powers' to counterbalance US and Chinese dominance. As AI capabilities grow, concerns mount over national security, economic competitiveness, and the concentration of digital power in unaccountable private hands.
- ▪Liz Kendall described AI as the 'currency of the future' and emphasized the need for the UK to avoid dependency on a few dominant tech firms.
- ▪Kendall called for collaboration among democratic middle powers, including European nations, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Oceania, to build a resilient and independent digital ecosystem.
- ▪A new AI model called Mythos, developed by Anthropic, has demonstrated advanced capabilities in identifying software vulnerabilities, prompting the company to restrict access due to potential misuse.
- ▪The UK faces increasing technological asymmetry with the US, which is advancing rapidly in AI amid its strategic rivalry with China.
- ▪Former ambassador Peter Mandelson recently argued that Britain would align with the US in a bifurcated global digital order, a stance contrasted by Kendall's push for greater strategic autonomy.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — Politics |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/29/ai-panic-uk-government-us-dependent-technology-trump |
| Publication time | Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:00:46 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-04-29T05:13:26.567Z |
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Liz Kendall, the UK’s science, innovation and technology secretary, on a visit to IBM’s London office in 2025. Kendall says AI is the ‘currency of the future’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAView image in fullscreenLiz Kendall, the UK’s science, innovation and technology secretary, on a visit to IBM’s London office in 2025. Kendall says AI is the ‘currency of the future’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAOpinionPoliticsIn the coming AI future, Britain must not end up at the mercy of US tech giantsRafael BehrTrump is volatile, capricious and unreasonable – but he belongs to the old world of analogue power. What comes next will be harder to manageWed 29 Apr 2026 01.00 EDTLast modified on Wed 29 Apr 2026 07.45 EDTShareDonald Trump is not impressed by soft power.
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