Displaying items by tag: Elon Musk

The Electoral Commission (EC) has asked for a change in electoral law to close a loophole that could enable Elon Musk to make an £80 million donation to Reform, Nigel Farage’s party. Current laws prohibit foreign citizens like Musk from directly donating to UK parties, but a loophole allows unlimited donations through UK-based companies. This proposal gained urgency after Musk and Farage discussed potential financial support during a meeting at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Reportedly, Musk is considering a significant donation to challenge Labour and the Conservatives. EC chief Vijay Rangarajan emphasised the importance of voter trust in political financing and urged the Government to address this issue. However, Downing Street stated that reforming electoral law is not a priority in the current parliamentary session.

On Brazil’s independence day, former president Jair Bolsonaro led thousands in a protest in Sao Paulo against the country's ban on the social media platform X. The ban was ordered by supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes after X, owned by Elon Musk, failed to appoint a legal representative in Brazil as required. De Moraes has also had ongoing disputes with Musk over misinformation. The supreme court unanimously upheld the ban, sparking anger from far-right supporters who viewed it as an infringement on free speech. Bolsonaro, a key figure in Brazil’s far-right, called for the protest, describing it as a fight for democracy and free expression. Bolsonaro has a history of clashes with De Moraes, especially after the 2022 elections when he spread misinformation about electoral fraud, leading to protests and a violent assault on government buildings. De Moraes eventually banned Bolsonaro from office until 2030 for his role in spreading false information.

Representatives and companies from 28 countries, including the USA, China, and the EU, have signed a declaration on AI safety at a summit held at Bletchley Park. This aims to address the risks associated with advanced AI models, particularly ‘frontier AI’ models like those developed by OpenAI, which include large language models like ChatGPT. One notable participant was the billionaire Elon Musk, co-founder of ChatGPT, who regards AI as a risk to humanity: see The declaration seeks to identify shared concerns regarding AI safety risks and develop risk-based policies across countries. The UK government has described this agreement as a ‘world-first’ achievement. However, some experts believe that it lacks concrete policies and accountability mechanisms. They emphasise the need for swift action to establish globally recognised best practices. In addition to the agreement, the UK government announced a £225 million investment in a new AI supercomputer, Isambard-AI, to be built at the University of Bristol. It is expected to be ten times faster than the UK's current fastest machine and aims to make breakthroughs in fusion energy, healthcare, and climate modelling.

Concerns about free speech regulation have resurfaced after Elon Musk bought Twitter. Musk’s vow to ‘defeat spam bots’ and make Twitter’s algorithm public is welcomed by many, including Matt Batten, director of communication at Llandaff Church in Wales. He is pleased that there will be an edit button and that spam bots will be removed, and sees algorithms being made public as bringing greater transparency. However, his scepticism increases when it comes to free speech. He told Premier, ‘It all sounds fantastic, and we champion democracy, but whose freedom of speech?’ Political activists also expect Musk's ownership of Twitter will mean less moderation and the reinstatement of banned individuals, including Donald Trump. There are questions on what the deal will mean for Twitter's China content policy, as Musk's Tesla relies heavily on China for production and vehicle sales. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to hate or insult others.