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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, Britain, April 22, 2024.
Sunak says the UK is ready to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda
On Monday, Britain's parliament voted to put asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would be ready to begin deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda within the next few months.
Sunak has vowed to put a stop to the some 30,000 refugees who entered the UK by crossing the English Channel last year. The idea to send migrants to Rwanda was first introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022. Under the plan, regardless of a refugee’s country of origin, they will be shipped to Rwanda and forced to submit their asylum applications there instead of in the UK.
The legislation is a response to a UK Supreme Court ruling that deemed such deportations a violation of international law because of Rwanda’s poor human rights record and because refugees would be at risk of being returned from Rwanda to their home countries, where they could face harm.
The plan is being criticized as a highly expensive gimmick for Sunak, who is facing significant political pressure as his party risks defeat in the upcoming general elections. The UK has already transferred $178 million to Rwanda although no refugees have been sent so far. He remains committed to the plan, asserting that preparations, including chartered jets and an airfield on standby, are complete for the flights expected to start in 10 to 12 weeks. However, UN rights experts have cautioned that airlines participating could face legal repercussions for complicity in violating international law.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2024.
Britain’s AI test-drive
The United Kingdom takes a hands-off approach to regulating AI technology — especially in relation to its European Union counterparts. Now, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is also using the tech to try to improve its own bureaucratic processes.
The government announced it will trial some AI tools — namely, a government-licensed version of ChatGPT, as well as various open-source tools — to analyze comments on public policy documents and draft responses to parliamentary questions. The government says there will always be a human vetting whatever the AI systems generate.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said that AI wouldn’t be used in “novel or contentious or highly politically sensitive areas,” but rather for “routine policy tasks.” The initiative is being trialed and will be followed by a separate pilot program with the National Health Service to develop precision-based medicine and diagnostics and to root out fraud.
This isn’t the flashiest use of artificial intelligence. Still, it may be among the most useful — in an ideal world, the public enjoys a more agile and responsive government (and staffers get more interesting work). That said, we’ll have our eye out for hallucinations and gobbledygook that make it past the human gatekeeper.
The Pornhub logo is seen on an iPhone mobile device in this illustration photo in Warsaw, Poland on 12 October, 2022.
Is the UK trying to screw the porn industry?
If the British communications regulator has its way, visiting porn sites in the UK is about to become a much more intimate process.
Responding to parliamentarians’ criticisms that those “click yes if you’re an adult” boxes do too little to shield kids from smut, a new proposal would require triple-X sites to demand users’ banking details, photo ID, credit card, or even a biometric face scan to prove they are over 18.
Proponents say users’ digital histories will be kept secure, but critics say surrendering personal data to porn sites is a privacy nightmare. The new rules would begin in 2025.
Will Brits keep calm and… give their personal data to porn sites? The UK already tops a list of the European populations most reluctant to talk about their sex lives.
The result could be to crater engagement with porn sites more broadly. In fact, that’s exactly what happened when similar ID checks were introduced in US states like Louisiana, Montana, and Arkansas: web traffic on the sites fell more than 80% because of users’ reluctance to tie their sensitive personal information to the sites.
AI regulation means adapting old laws for new tech: Marietje Schaake
Why did Eurasia Group list "Ungoverned AI" as one of the top risks for 2024 in its annual report? Schaake, International Policy Fellow, Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and former European Parliamentarian, discussed the challenges around developing effective AI regulation, emphasizing that politicians and policymakers must recognize that not every challenge posed by AI and other emerging technologies will be novel; many merely require proactive approaches for resolution. She spoke during GZERO's Top Risks of 2024 livestream conversation, focused on Eurasia Group's report outlining the biggest global threats for the coming year.
"We didn't need AI to understand that discrimination is illegal. We didn't need AI to know that antitrust rules matter in a fair economy. We didn't need AI to know that governments have a key responsibility to safeguard national security," Schaake argues. "And so, those responsibilities have not changed. It's just that the way in which these poor democratic principles are at stake has changed."
For more:- Watch the full livestream discussion, moderated by GZERO's publisher Evan Solomon and featuring the authors of the report, Eurasia Group & GZERO President Ian Bremmer and Eurasia Group Chairman Cliff Kupchan.
- Read the full report on The Top Risks of 2024.
- And don't miss Marietje Schaake's updates as co-host of our video series GZERO AI.
- A world of conflict: The top risks of 2024 ›
- UK AI Safety Summit brings government leaders and AI experts together ›
- Rishi Sunak's first-ever UK AI Safety Summit: What to expect ›
- AI's impact on jobs could lead to global unrest, warns AI expert Marietje Schaake ›
- Singapore sets an example on AI governance ›
- AI and Canada's proposed Online Harms Act - GZERO Media ›
- Yuval Noah Harari: AI is a “social weapon of mass destruction” to humanity - GZERO Media ›
- Should we regulate generative AI with open or closed models? - GZERO Media ›
A Post Office branch in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, on Wednesday Jan 19, 2023.
Justice in UK Post Office scandal comes too late
Between 1999 and 2015, 3,500 postal workers in the UK were accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting. Forced to repay the money, they fell into bankruptcy and financial ruin. For many, the convictions resulted in prison sentences, addiction, and even suicide.
They were all innocent.
In reality, the Post Office was using financial software that had a habit of misreporting substantial sums of money. Although the truth was discovered in 2010, the Post Office continued to relentlessly pursue and prosecute postal workers until 2019, when a group of 500 of them won their case in the High Court. To date, only 93 of the estimated 700 wrongful convictions have been overturned.
It took until Wednesday for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to offer a blanket acquittal to the wrongly accused – one that will take effect by the end of the year. Why now? Sunak was likely responding to a new TV drama about the scandal, which is spurring public outrage at the PM, who gave the Japanese company behind the faulty software billions of pounds of contracts after they were known to be responsible for the accounting errors.
Brits didn’t need another reason to be mad at Sunak. His Conservative Party is already polling terribly because of a poor economy and nationwide feeling of general dysfunction.
According to Eurasia Group’s Mujtaba Rahman, “the narrow path to victory doesn’t exist anymore for Sunak.” Even if he manages to delay the election until November, Rahman expects the Labour Party to win the majority.
Europe's big political stories to watch in 2024
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics.
What are the big political stories in Europe 2024?
Well, obviously the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the possibility of supporting Ukraine in its fight for its independence, freedom of sovereignty, is going to be the dominant story.
But apart from that, the election to the European Parliament happening in early summer, that's going to be enormously important, both because it will show the respective strengths of the different political forces in Europe. I would expect the center-right EPP to remain as the dominant force in the European Parliament, but that remains to be seen. And that is of course the beginning of the process of appointing all of the new personalities that will dominate the European Union in the coming five years. President of the European Council, president of the Commission, high representative for foreign and security affairs, president of the European Parliament, all of the commissioners, all will be decided during the month immediately after the election, based on that particular result.
Then, of course, an election in the United Kingdom, which is highly likely to produce a new government. And then perhaps the possibility, with a new commission and a new government in London, a more constructive relationship across the channel between Brussels and London. And I think that might be highly needed, as the country that I'm at the moment in is also having an election in November, and that might produce an outcome which might be highly problematic from several points of view. And Europe has to be ready
- Dutch voters take hard-right turn: Will more of the EU follow? ›
- Poles to the polls! ›
- Ahead of the Spanish election, the political pendulum is swinging right ›
- After pivotal election, Slovakia forms new government ›
- EU to Ukraine: Let’s get this started ›
- Populism and partition? Europe's bleak forecast for the year ahead - GZERO Media ›
Zelensky's US trip likely to secure aid for Ukraine
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
Will Zelensky's US visit lead to more aid for Ukraine?
I think so. Unclear why he had to go to Argentina for Milei's inauguration just before. That feels decidedly B-list for a guy that's running a war. But the US trip is important. And of course, he's seeing all of the senate Dems and Republicans, speaker of the House, as well as Biden and a bunch of defense contractors. Biden really wants this to happen. So do leaders of the Democratic and Republican Party. Biden has to compromise for support, both money as well as policy compromise on border security to get the Republicans to support it. I expect that will happen. So on balance, it's close, but I think you're going to get additional military support and cash from the Americans for 2024. That does not allow the Ukrainians to take more territory back, but it does allow them to maintain their existing defenses, which is pretty important.
Will Prime Minister Tusk's return to power help make Poland a leader in Europe?
Absolutely. And I think we're already seeing that in terms of Poland's role on Ukraine. We're seeing it in terms of engagement with von der Leyen on fiscal transfers and on general alignment on where Europe's policies are going on issues like transition energy, industrial policy, AI, you name it. I think that this is a big win for Europe and it's certainly a big win for the Polish people.
Is Prime Minister Sunak on the rocks in Britain?
No much more than he has been, frankly. I mean, he is potentially going to face a no confidence vote because of opposition to his migration, latest migration policy, but it won't pass. He's certainly out in the next election in the coming year and Labor's coming back. But compared to recent prime ministers in the UK, Sunak's been doing a pretty decent job. Essentially, he's a caretaker PM, post-Brexit. That's where we are.
- Biden seeks urgent aid package for Israel, Ukraine ›
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- US aid for Israel & Ukraine hangs in the balance - GZERO Media ›
Singapore sets an example on AI governance
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Fellow, Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and former European Parliamentarian, co-hosts GZERO AI, our new weekly video series intended to help you keep up and make sense of the latest news on the AI revolution. In this episode, she reviews the Singapore government's latest agenda in its AI policy: How to govern AI, at the Singapore Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
Hello. My name is Marietje Schaake. I'm in Singapore this week, and this is GZERO AI. Again, a lot of AI activities going on here at a conference organized by the Singaporese government that is looking at how to govern AI, the key question, million-dollar question, billion-dollar question that is on agendas for politicians, whether it is in cities, countries, or multilateral organizations. And what I like about the approach of the government here in Singapore is that they've brought together a group of experts from multiple disciplines, multiple countries around the world, to help them tackle the question of, what should we be asking ourselves? And how can experts inform what Singapore should do with regard to its AI policy? And this sort of listening mode and inviting experts first, I think is a great approach and hopefully more governments will do that, because I think it's necessary to have such well-informed thoughts, especially while there is so much going on already. Singapore is thinking very, very clearly and strategically about what its unique role can be in a world full of AI activities.
Speaking of the world full of AI activities, the EU will have the last, at least last planned negotiating round on the EU AI Act where the most difficult points will have to come to the table. Outstanding differences between Member States, the European parliaments around national security uses of AI, or the extent to which human rights protections will be covered, but also the critical discussion that is surfacing more and more around foundation models, whether they should be regulated, how they should be regulated, and how that can be done in a way that European companies are not disadvantaged compared to, for example, US leaders in the generative AI space in particular. So it's a pretty intense political fight, even after it looked like there was political consensus until about a month ago. But of course that is not unusual. Negotiations always have to tackle the most difficult points at the end, and that is where we are. So it's a space to watch, and I wouldn't be surprised if there would be an additional negotiating round planned after the one this week.
Then there will be the first physical meeting of the UN AI Advisory Body, of which I'm a member and I'm looking forward. This is going to happen in New York City and it will really be the first opportunity for all of us to get together and discuss, after online working sessions have taken place and a flurry of activities has already taken off after we were appointed roughly a month ago. So the UN is moving at break speed this time, and hopefully it will lead to important questions and answers with regard to the global governance of AI, the unique role of the United Nations, and the application of the charter international human rights and international law at this critical moment for global governance of artificial intelligence.
- Singapore politics get (!) interesting ›
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- Regulate AI, but how? The US isn’t sure ›
- AI's impact on jobs could lead to global unrest, warns AI expert Marietje Schaake - GZERO Media ›
- AI regulation means adapting old laws for new tech: Marietje Schaake - GZERO Media ›
- AI & human rights: Bridging a huge divide - GZERO Media ›