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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Rafael Behr

In the coming AI future, Britain must not end up at the mercy of US tech giants

United States Donald Trump Liz Kendall Britain Rafael Behr Elon Musk Peter Mandelson Anthropic Palantir Pentagon
Liz Kendall, the UK's science, innovation and technology secretary, stands beside a robotic dog on a visit to IBM's London headquarters in 2025.
Liz Kendall, the UK’s science, innovation and technology secretary, on a visit to IBM’s London office in 2025. Kendall says AI is the ‘currency of the future’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Donald Trump is not impressed by soft power. He respects hard men with military muscle. But he can be moved by pageantry, which is the purpose of King Charles’s visit to Washington this week. Trump is flattered to rub shoulders with majesty. The good vibes are then supposed to radiate warmth through a political relationship that has been chilled by the war in Iran.

It might work, but not for long. Trump’s irritation with Keir Starmer and other European leaders for what he calls cowardice in the Middle East is aggravated daily by evidence that the war is a strategic calamity.

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