Tony Blair Wants Governments to Embrace AI, Not Slow It Down

Tony Blair’s think tank has called for governments to embrace AI and rebuild their states around the new technology despite the risks posed to workers, societies and security.

The former Labour prime minister, who has multiple ties to the tech sector, has backed a new paper arguing that countries risk being left behind if they do not adapt to the AI era.

Blair’s vision for AI-powered governance was set out in a paper released by his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI).

“Countries cannot protect themselves from AI by ignoring it,” the paper argues. “The only meaningful path is to engage with it, building institutions capable of operating at the speed and complexity of the world now emerging, and harness AI to transform how the state itself works.” 

The institute’s paper does not make reference to Blair’s own relationship with the tech industry, including the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding his institute has received from tech moguls. 

Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of software company Oracle, which is heavily invested in infrastructure driving the AI boom, has given around £257m in donations and pledges to Blair’s think tank since 2021.

In February, campaign group Foxglove criticised the UK government for collaborating with Blair’s think tank on AI implementation, stating: “Ministers seem to be unable to spot a potential conflict of interest which is blindingly obvious to everyone else.”

Despite acknowledging the risks to labour markets, the dangers of concentrating technological power and increased exposure to biological threats, the answer is not to slow development but instead to “harness and control it”, he wrote.

“This AI revolution will be happening to you and you won’t be guiding it,” Blair added in a video interview posted on X.

Earlier this month, a handful of AI executives called for a global slowdown in AI development in response to warnings about the existential threat posed by the new technology. However, other tech leaders – including the CEO of chipmaker Nvidia – questioned if Silicon Valley bosses were motivated more by safety concerns or by their fears of increased competition.