We must take control of AI now, before it’s too late | Letters
“When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control”, says the headline on Rafael Behr’s article (23 December).I think it’s more likely that when the AI bubble bursts, the creators of the crisis, along with other wealthy economic actors, will be in the rooms with the politicians telling them how to “rescue” us all by transferring wealth in some way from average citizens to the already extremely wealthy.Just like they did during the financial crisis of 2008.We need to be ready with alternative plans.For example, world governments could coordinate to buy, for suitably low prices, majority shares in any crashing tech company that actually produces something useful, ensuring that those shares come with full voting rights.
Governments could then, acting as majority shareholders, instruct these monopolies to divide themselves back into national companies, paying local rates of taxation in one single country for all their activities and obeying all local content and copyright laws,Governments could spend money on infrastructure and wages in any area of these companies that is actually useful and sell the shares for a profit once they are making money again,That’s just one idea,Another might be that we just shut them all down and conserve our power and water for human beings, and close down or refuse to build the datacentres,We should be generating lots of ideas so that, when the time comes, nobody can say “there is no alternative” to the plans that will be proposed behind closed doors by the super-rich and then presented to the rest of us as a fait accompli.
Anyone with thoughts on this matter needs to make it clear, as a matter of urgency, that there are plenty of possible plans that don’t just transfer more wealth to the super-rich.Anja CraddenEdinburgh Rafael Behr is right to be concerned about the rapid development of AI, but he seems to be suggesting that we all just wait until the bubble bursts before taking any action to control it.Apart from the potentially catastrophic impact on jobs, the sort of issues raised by an article you published earlier this month (‘It’s going much too fast’: the inside story of the race to create the ultimate AI, 1 December) mean that we can’t assume we’ll get the chance.In the foreseeable future, AI will certainly be able to sabotage attempts to close down or redirect it, and by then it will be too late.Insiders are already worrying that AI could herald the end of the road for humanity, and we must begin the fight to control it now, before it begins to control us.
Mike ScottNottingham Reading Rafael Behr’s piece on AI reminded me of a short story by the American author Fredric Brown,Scientists build a supercomputer and ask it the final question: “Is there a God? The computer cogitates and answers: “There is now,” Prescient science fiction or what?Gerry ReesWorcester Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section,
Sainsbury’s CEO among business leaders recognised in new year honours
The boss of Sainsbury’s who helped turn around the grocer’s fortunes is among leading figures from the business world to be recognised in the new year honours list.Simon Roberts, who has been chief executive of the UK’s second largest supermarket since 2020, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the retail industry.His tenure has included leading Sainsbury’s through the Covid pandemic as well as the cost of living crisis while improving its market share, helping its stock price rise by about three-quarters.Roberts courted controversy during 2025 as he was accused of “Orwellian” tactics for trialling facial recognition technology to combat shoplifting and embarked on a programme to axe 3,000 jobs as part of a £1bn cost-cutting drive while being paid more than £5m in the supermarket’s financial year to 1 March.The businessman was a member of the then prime minister Rishi Sunak’s 2023 business council and took over as president of the Institute of Grocery Distribution in 2024
Silver and other precious metals hit new peaks before falling back; oil price rises after Trump-Zelenskyy meeting – as it happened
Global stocks are on course to end the year at all-time highs, while the dollar is trading close to a three-month low, as markets are expecting further interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve next year.The MSCI’s world equity index is flat, leaving the global stock benchmark with a near-21% gain so far this year, after Wall Street hit record highs at the end of last week – dubbed a Santa rally.European shares on the Stoxx 600 index briefly touched an all-time intra-day peak this morning. The FTSE 100 index in London is broadly flat (up 3 points at 9,873), with the world’s leading silver miner Fresnillo leading gains, up 2.6%, while defence shares are down on Ukraine peace hopes
Cryptocurrency slump erases 2025 financial gains and Trump-inspired optimism
As 2025 comes to a close, Donald Trump’s favorable approach to cryptocurrency has not proven to be enough to sustain the industry’s gains, once the source of market-wide optimism and enthusiasm. The last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the digital asset market, despite bitcoin hitting an all-time-high price of $126,000 on 6 October.The October price peak was short-lived. Bitcoin’s price tumbled just days later after Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across the market on 12 October. The crypto market saw $19bn liquidated in 24 hours – the largest liquidation event on record
‘This will be a stressful job’: Sam Altman offers $555k salary to fill most daunting role in AI
The maker of ChatGPT has advertised a $555,000-a-year vacancy with a daunting job description that would cause Superman to take a sharp intake of breath.In what may be close to the impossible job, the “head of preparedness” at OpenAI will be directly responsible for defending against risks from ever more powerful AIs to human mental health, cybersecurity and biological weapons.That is before the successful candidate has to start worrying about the possibility that AIs may soon begin training themselves amid fears from some experts they could “turn against us”.“This will be a stressful job, and you’ll jump into the deep end pretty much immediately,” said Sam Altman, the chief executive of the San Francisco-based organisation, as he launched the hunt to fill “a critical role” to “help the world”.The successful candidate will be responsible for evaluating and mitigating emerging threats and “tracking and preparing for frontier capabilities that create new risks of severe harm”
Sarina Wiegman an honorary dame as Lionesses and Red Roses get honours
Sarina Wiegman has been awarded an honorary damehood after guiding England to back-to-back European titles, in a new year honours list dominated by the Lionesses and England’s victorious women’s rugby union team.The Red Roses’ World Cup success on home soil has led to the captain, Zoe Aldcroft, the vice-captain, Marlie Packer, and the head coach, John Mitchell, named OBEs, while Megan Jones, Sadia Kabeya and Ellie Kildunne become MBEs.Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been honoured with a damehood and a knighthood for services to skating and to voluntary service, more than 40 years after their gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo while July’s triumph for Wiegman’s Lionesses also means the captain, Leah Williamson, has been named an OBE and four of her teammates – Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Keira Walsh – MBEs.The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said: “It has been an historic year for women’s sport and I could not be more pleased to congratulate our Red Roses and Lionesses on their new year’s honours. To have two England teams – in two of our most loved sports – win major tournaments in the space of a few months was just extraordinary
No Drama This End brings back glory days for Nicholls – and it’s Cheltenham next
Days like these were once almost a weekly experience for Paul Nicholls, as he strung together one title-winning season after another, so the 14-time champion will have taken particular pleasure from his double on Monday as No Drama This End, in the Grade One Challow Hurdle, and Minella Yoga both emerged as contenders for the Cheltenham festival in March.The Challow has often been an early proving ground for future stars over fences, and No Drama This End, Nicholls’s seventh winner of the race, joined former champions from the yard including Denman, the 2008 Gold Cup winner, and Bravemansgame, the 2022 King George VI Chase winner, on the roll of honour. Sent off at 4-9, the five-year-old made all the running under Harry Cobden and needed little encouragement to maintain a one-and-a-quarter length lead to the line.“Someone just said to me, how does he compare with your other Challow winners, like Denman and Bravemansgame and all those,” Nicholls said, “and he compares with all of them. In three runs over hurdles, he’s won two Grade Twos and a Grade One, and none of them achieved that
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