The Tribune

STUDYING the US media coverage of last week’s two-day visit to Washington by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, I was struck by comments that somehow the UK had turned in on itself after withdrawing from the European Union. Such a claim is not borne out by the facts. There has been no retreat by Britain from the world stage. On the contrary, the reverse is the case.

One of the reasons for the nation’s decision, following its 2016 referendum, to leave the EU was to secure once more its capacity to play an independent role internationally, after being freed from what many saw as the shackles of the dictatorial and controlling bloc. Since its formal withdrawal in January 2020, Britain has been taking steps to increase its role as a global player while pursuing its national interests; and this has included signing new bilateral trade deals with a variety of countries.

Against this background, Mr Sunak has just made his first official visit to the US. Doubtless, he was intent on reminding everyone he met that a post-Brexit Britain – as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the sixth-largest national economy in the world and with its leadership role in the Commonwealth – still matters as a strong, competent and reliable player globally, especially after its domestic political upheavals and uncertainty during 2022.

He will also have wanted to reassure his interlocutors in Washington that his country remains a valued ally of the US, particularly on major defence and security issues and in dealing specifically with China and Russia, not least in relation to Ukraine. As the two biggest donors of financial and military aid to this beleaguered country, the US and UK both believe in the importance of their support and are both committed to continuing it for “as long as it takes”.

By all accounts, the Prime Minister was generally well received in the US with meetings across a wide spectrum, including congressional leaders and business executives and a rare joint press conference with President Biden after a formal meeting with him. This was the fifth time the two leaders had met – most recently at the G7 summit in Japan –and it appears that their relationship has improved significantly. Certainly, it will have been music to the premier’s ears when Biden publicly hailed the famous special relationship between the two countries and said that “there is no country closer to us than the UK”.

A major achievement of the visit was signature of a new agreement called the Atlantic Declaration which has been lauded as a new economic partnership for a new age. It sets out plans for greater economic cooperation on a variety of issues; for example, global supply chains, critical minerals and computers including, most significantly, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

An overarching trade agreement with the US by 2022 was once seen as Britain’s biggest prize post-Brexit. But any such deal no longer appears to be a priority for either side. Even though lobby groups in the UK have been pushing for a narrower pact covering trade in critical minerals and digital cooperation, critics are calling the Atlantic Declaration a modest substitute that is too limited. However, Rishi Sunak is now saying that the two countries should be focused on “making sure our economic partnership reflects the particular challenges and opportunities of the time that we’re in right now and into the future”.

He explained that his talks in Washington had concentrated on “specific and targeted ways to improve trade relations between our two countries” – and, in order to boost business, a trade pact was needed on things like “critical minerals that provide essential components in products such as electric vehicles, solar panels, flat screen TVs and pacemakers”.

 For many UK observers, Sunak’s visit overall was a considerable success. This was a high-profile engagement for the 43-year-old leader who has held office only since last October. Being photographed with the US president helps his image as an international statesman and conveys a message of a united Western alliance. It may also help him domestically as the political storm clouds appear to be gathering again in Britain following the sudden resignation as an MP of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

In addition to all this, a significant result of his visit was possible cooperation with the US in connection with AI. Reportedly, the prime minister wanted to discuss the promise and perils of AI in an attempt to assert himself on the issue while the US and EU were already conducting talks about it. For his part, Biden described AI as an unprecedented fundamental technological change that has the “potential to do great damage” if it is not controlled.

With this in mind, it might be interesting to examine this subject further in a separate piece today.

RULES NEEDED TO PROTECT AGAINST DANGERS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

As a Stanford University MBA graduate, Rishi Sunak is said to have a dream of creating a British Silicon Valley. He has also floated the idea that the UK could be a centre for regulating the developing technology of AI.

Some people believe that the country would be well placed to take such a prominent role given that it has become a leader in the field, though it is clearly behind the US which, of course, has its own major tech companies that are leading the charge at the forefront of AI-driven research. Sceptics in the UK, however, wonder whether efforts by a post-Brexit prime minister may be enough to spur industrial leaders to act. They question whether the UK can lead in setting norms for best practice when the US and EU are already consulting closely about such action.

That said, the UK has unveiled in a White Paper an approach to handling innovation in AI that is also designed to turbocharge growth. According to reports, the White Paper is a guide on how to use AI to drive responsible innovation. At the same time, in order to maintain public trust in this revolutionary and fast-moving technology, it also sets out a new approach to regulating it.

Research shows that there are already a host of different definitions of AI. But, to my eye, a notably clear one is “the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks currently associated with intelligent beings or tasks normally requiring human intelligence”.

AI is already widely used in carrying out tasks in daily life - but not necessarily replacing human-beings - from helping medical diagnoses to making other decisions that seriously impact people’s lives like bank loans and mortgages. In the UK, the AI industry is thriving, employing over 50,000 people which is more than any other European country.

Thus, AI is delivering real social and economic benefits. But it is clear that risks also exist in relation to issues like fairness, transparency, safety and security, protection of privacy and human rights, responsibility, accountability and redress. In particular, there is a need to protect against deliberate and calculated misuse. According to the White Paper, the public needs such protection because, even though AI can benefit humanity in numerous ways, it can only realize its potential if it is widely trusted -- “AI has the potential to make the UK a smarter, healthier and happier place to live and work”, and rules are needed to ensure it is developed safely.

Interestingly, the UK is proposing not to give responsibility to a new single regulator but rather to empower existing regulators in different fields to come up with tailored, context-specific approaches that are applicable to the way AI is actually used in their sectors. With the emphasis on ensuring the protection of the public against misuse for nefarious purposes, the UK’s context-driven approach is judged to be the most effective way to help regulation keep pace with the development of AI while supporting innovation and mitigating future risks. Meanwhile, looking to the future, since Britain is well placed to be a power-broker in relation to the issue, it is due to host this autumn the first major international gathering on the risks posed by AI.

To sum all this up, the British Prime Minister was quoted as saying during his Washington visit that AI has “an incredible potential to transform our lives”, but he stressed the need “to make sure it is developed and used in a way that is safe and secure”. As he has said, no country can do this alone. It will require a global effort – and “with our commitment to an open, democratic international system, the UK will stand together with our allies and lead the way”.

A DAY IN HISTORY NEVER TO FORGET

This time of the year is a moment for remembrance of D-Day the Sixth of June. It seems to slip off the tongue easily and has a resonance about it because even the laziest of schoolboy history pupils knows what it signifies.

During the Second World War, it was the day in 1944 of the launch of the greatest amphibious operation ever undertaken in the history of warfare. Known as Operation Overlord, landings were made on the French coast in Normandy. Its objective was the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of Europe. The scale was enormous: 5,000 ships - together with thousands of lesser craft backed by 11,000 aircraft - were, in the space of 48 hours, to hurl nearly 200,000 men against what was called Hitler’s much-vaunted Atlantic Wall behind which the German Army was lying in wait in huge numbers. In the process, the Allies suffered massive casualties and losses of supplies and equipment.

This incredible venture has been described as a story of epic heroism and sacrifice, but also of victory and success. It constituted the opening of the Second Front that led, after heavy fighting across Europe, to Germany’s surrender and the celebration of “Victory in Europe” less than a year later on 8 May, 1945.

There is an enormous amount of archival material about D-Day. The breadth of documentary evidence, including a massive collection of film and photographs, is extraordinary. It shows in amazing detail exactly what happened during the landings and their aftermath.

For many people, this is important because the reality is there for all to see and the temptation by latter-day “Revisionist” historians to rewrite the story of it is made all the more difficult. Reportedly, however, that did not prevent such historians – fifty years later - levelling criticism against Britain’s famous wartime leader, Winston Churchill, for failing to negotiate with Hitler in the summer of 1940 that would have avoided war but would have led to German occupation of Britain.

Today is not the time or place to debate the merits and demerits of historical revisionism that some maintain is the lifeblood of historical scholarship and, at its basic level, is a useful and acceptable tool in understanding the past properly. But the events and significance of D-Day, which has been said by the Royal British Legion to have earned its place as one of the most significant battles in history, cannot realistically be challenged.