The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by asking the leaders of the
Commons and the Lords to update on business in both Houses.
Turning to social media, the Prime Minister said the government's
consultation had recently closed following a huge response. He
said the public debate showed the strength of feeling about the
issue. The Prime Minister said there was no question the
government would act and the status quo had to change. He added
the Technology Secretary and her team had been working
intensively to respond to the consultation. He said the
government's response was the next stage in our work, following
his challenge to tech companies yesterday to make Britain the
first country in the world where it is impossible for children to
take, share or view nude images. He thanked the Technology
Secretary and her team for their hard work on the issue.
The Technology Secretary said there had been around 120,000
responses to the consultation on social media, making it the
second largest response to any government consultation in history
since one on equal marriage. She said AI and the tech sector
offered huge potential to transform this country and people's
lives for the better, but that the public's two biggest concerns
were that AI would take their jobs and threaten their children's
safety online. The Technology Secretary said that we would only
seize the opportunities AI offered if we dealt with the
accompanying risks. She said the government needed to acknowledge
that any response could not be 'one and done' - it would need to
continually evolve to match the ever-changing world of technology
so that every part of the country benefits.
The Prime Minister said that there was a false choice being
offered between seizing the opportunities offered by AI and
technology and protecting our children. He said it was essential
to do both, as the public would expect.
