I have always seen myself as ‘progressive’ – but with AI it’s time to hit the brakes | Peter Lewis
TL;DR
Guardian columnist Peter Lewis, a self-described progressive, calls for hitting the brakes on AI – pushing back against uncritical tech optimism.
Key Points
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei visited Canberra, met the Australian PM, and became the first to sign the government's new datacentre principles – conveniently released just a week earlier.
- Lewis argues that progressives have so far failed to offer credible answers on AI governance while automation accelerates.
- The piece questions whether 'good AI capitalism' as pitched by Amodei is sufficient, or whether structural intervention is needed.
Nauti's Take
Framing Amodei as the 'good oligarch' is clever – and dangerous. The narrative of the responsible AI saviour relieves regulators of pressure to show real teeth.
The fact that Australia's datacentre principles dropped exactly one week before his visit – and he signed them on the spot – looks less like coincidence and more like coordinated PR. Progressives are running out of time: leaving AI policy to the goodwill of billionaires means the power to shape it is already gone.
Sources