AI could be most substantial policy challenge ever, say Blair and Hague

Artificial intelligence could represent the most substantial policy challenge ever faced by the UK and urgent action is needed to avoid falling behind rival powers such as the US, according to a report co-authored by Tony Blair and William Hague. The former prime minister and the former Conservative party leader, who co-wrote the foreword to the report, said society was about to be "radically reshaped" by the technology, resulting in a "fundamental change in how we plan for the future". The report warns that the state is poorly prepared for the changes that AI could unleash. "AI's unpredictable development, the rate of change and its ever increasing power means its arrival could present the most substantial policy challenge ever faced, for which the state's existing approaches and channels are poorly configured," says the report, titled A New National Purpose: AI promises a world-leading future of Britain. AI has shot up the political agenda in the UK and other countries after breakthroughs in generative AI, which can produce convincing text, images and even voice on command.