Tony Blair and the Reform party both want AI in government, though they can't agree on what for

Summary

Public Sector Tony Blair and the Reform party both want AI in government, though they can't agree on what for Former UK PM demands modernization, and right wing party channels inner Musk to call for mass job cuts in public sector Former UK Labour prime minister Tony Blair and Reform MP Danny Kruger have both published essays arguing that AI will transform government, though they reach strikingly different conclusions about what that meansBlair’s essay, published Tuesday on his Institute for Global Change website, calls AI one of two “epochal” changes reshaping the world, the first being the rise of China and India. “The second is the technology revolution led by developments in artificial intelligence, which will change everything,” writes Blair. “I mean everything. There is no point in debating whether this technological revolution is a good or bad thing. Just know it is a ‘thing’. In fact, it is ‘the thing’.” He argues AI will displace and create new jobs, "revolutionize the private sector, and should eventually overhaul public services," warning that "people in most countries, including Britain, have no idea what is about to hit them." The missive, widely covered for its attacks on the current UK administration, recommends scrapping some environmental policies to prioritize cheaper energy and electrification over net zero, using "what is left of our North Sea oil and gas resources." This, he writes, is "essential for our competitiveness and for taking advantage of AI." More significantly, government should be reorganized. “All governments for the foreseeable future will govern in the age of AI,” he adds. “Those which understand it will see their countries prosper; those which don’t, won’t.”Blair's institute - a not-for-profit consultancy and think tank known for presenting technology as the solution to government problems - has notable backers, including the Gates Foundation and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's foundation. Ellison donated $70 million in 2024 and approv...