Ann Davies

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. In my lifetime, technology has found its way into every corner of society. It has changed our workplaces, our classrooms and my farm, to be honest. It has brought real benefits, but also huge harms. One positive, of course, is that we can stay connected to everybody in the world, but we are also always reachable, and with that comes the downside of being exposed to the online world. Our children can stumble across content so harmful that it alters how they see themselves and the world. I therefore welcome the Government’s announcement on banning children from social media and blocking nude images on children’s phones. But let us be honest: that should have happened years ago; the Government have dilly-dallied while we, and particularly our younger generation, have been left to pay the price. That is because they are scared of upsetting billionaire tech bosses, and that shows the real role that big tech plays: an undemocratic hand on the shoulder of our politics. Big tech is pursuing AI superintelligence with almost no democratic oversight, and even world-class engineers admit they cannot fully control today’s models. People never voted for AI systems that can generate abuse or distort elections, yet those are being rolled out anyway. Children and women have already been violated by explicit images created without their consent, and misinformation is now so widespread that it threatens the foundations of our democracy. Still, the Government tiptoe around tech billionaires, acting only when the damage is already done. We have to be honest about the power that these companies hold. We were not elected to represent tech bosses; we were elected to represent our constituents. This Government have allowed themselves to be sucked in by the interests of the very richest people on the planet—individuals whose wealth exceeds the GDP of entire nations. I therefore want to ask the Minister three things. First, what will the actual consequences be if companies do not meet the deadline for blocking nude images? Will the Secretary of State report to Parliament at the end of that period with a clear timeline for legislation if progress falls short? Secondly, what proactive plans do the Government have to address the national security risk expected to be posed by superintelligent AI? Finally, when will this Government stop governing in fear of big tech and start governing in the interest of the people who sent us here?