Meta’s push to deploy its AI system within the British public sector has taken a step forward after the tech giant awarded funding for the development of technology aimed at shortening NHS A&E waiting times.
Amid rival efforts by Silicon Valley tech companies to work with national and local government, Meta organized its first “hackathon” in Europe asking more than 200 programmers to come up with ways to use its Llama AI system in public services. from the United Kingdom and, said a senior Meta executive. , “focused on Labor Party priorities.”
The event came after it emerged that Palantir, another US tech company, has been lobbying the Ministry of Justice and government ministers, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Microsoft also recently agreed a five-year deal with Whitehall departments to supply its AI Copilot technology to civil servants.
Nick Clegg, former deputy prime minister and now president of global affairs at California-based Meta, spoke about the Meta hackathon. UK AI Minister Feryal Clark said that “the government can embrace AI, such as Meta’s open source model, to support our key missions.”
When asked what benefits Meta gained from providing the technology for free, Clegg said: “In the long term, we are indirectly interested in seeing this innovation ecosystem based on Llama because then it makes it much easier for us to reincorporate innovations that no longer exist. in our own products.”
The Silicon Valley push comes amid concerns about AI safety, particularly in public services where customers may lack experience or be too pressured to conduct due diligence. But Clegg argued that fears about the risks of AI were overblown.
“Who knows, maybe the AI will start developing a mind of its own and start wanting to turn us into paper clips next Tuesday,” he said. “But I think right now the technology is much more primitive than many fears suggest.”
Clark played down fears that Labor could impose strict bureaucracy, saying that while he would not “run away from the significant risk posed by AI”, the government would “ensure that any regulation we introduce is proportionate, supports innovation and does not imposes an undue burden on workers.” business”.
Last week, Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science and Technology, admitted the government was treating tech giants with “humility” as they outspend the British government on investment in innovation.
“We are having to apply a sense of statecraft in working with companies that in the past we have reserved for dealing with other states,” he said.
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Moves to boost Meta’s open-source AI platform for use in the public sector follow growing concerns about the influence of tech giants. The role played by Elon Musk’s X platform in the US presidential election and social media’s involvement in fueling the August riots in the UK added to concerns.
When asked about the approach of Meta, which runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Clegg drew a clear contrast between Meta and X on how content is handled.
“Our practices are completely different,” he said. “If you look at the UK riots, most of the people who caused a real problem were figures like Tommy Robinson, who for a long time was banned from our platform, or Andrew Tate. That is not the case on Telegram, it is not the case on X.”