The Pope’s AI Warning and Alastair Reacts to Blair’s Attack
6/2/20261 hr 5 min
Is Pope Leo’s encyclical the most important contribution to the AI debate so far, and is he doing more to hold Silicon Valley to account than any Western government? What did Alastair say to Tony Blair about his explosive essay attacking the direction of Starmer’s government, the Labour Party, and net zero? Why does Rory think Blair is now closer to JD Vance than to the values that defined New Labour?
Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.
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First 90 secondsAlastair Campbell· Host0:00
Thanks for listening to The Rest Is Politics. To support the podcast, listen without the adverts, and get early access to episodes and live show tickets, go to therestispolitics.com. That's therestispolitics.com. The pope's encyclical, it might be as important as anything that's been said. It was hard at times not to read that in the back of his mind was Trump, Vance, Musk, Netanyahu, Putin, other world and tech leaders.
Rory Stewart· Host0:25
AI is now developing as the biggest single thing in global politics, economics. There are basically four different attitudes you can take: except we can't do anything about it, trust the tech bros, believe that democratic institutions can shape it, or try to get Trump and others to stop it. Blair's just put out this very controversial essay- He's right that Labor needs a kick up the backside.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:47
But if I had had a red pen, there are quite a lot of changes and deletions I would've made. This episode is brought to you by Ouse Energy.
Rory Stewart· Host0:55
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Alastair Campbell· Host1:04
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Rory Stewart· Host1:15
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Alastair Campbell· Host1:24
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Rory Stewart· Host1:29
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