Did the UK’s foremost AI champion, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, get carried away by his enthusiasm for the technology in his talks with OpenAI? The discussion of a £2 billion national deal, which he later dismissed as unserious, raises questions about his judgment and approach.
Kyle’s deep personal interest in ChatGPT is well-documented. He uses it for work advice and praises it as a tutor. This passion is a driving force behind the UK’s pro-AI stance. However, critics might argue that it could also lead to a lack of critical distance when dealing with powerful tech firms.
Entertaining a proposal with a £2 billion price tag, even briefly, could be seen as a sign of being overly captivated by the sales pitch of a charismatic CEO like Sam Altman. The fact that the idea had to be immediately shut down on cost grounds suggests it was not a well-grounded policy exploration.
Conversely, supporters would argue that it is the minister’s job to be ambitious and explore all possibilities. In this view, the discussion was not a sign of naivety, but of a healthy and open-minded approach to innovation. The key, they would say, is that he ultimately made the correct, fiscally responsible decision.