Rishi Sunak to meet boss of 'scary' US tech firm that wants jumbo NHS contract
Rishi Sunak is to meet the boss of a controversial US firm that wants a jumbo NHS data contract.
The PM attended a baseball game in Washington DC with Palantir chief executive Alex Karp.
The company, which grew out of a US spy organisation, has been described as the “scariest” of the American tech giants.
It is the favourite to get its hands on a £480million NHS England data software contract that would bring together patient information from across the health service.
MPs including Tory David Davis are pressing the government for more reassurances about how people’s data will be treated as the new operating system is built.
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Palantir last night announced it will make the UK its European HQ for Artificial Intelligence development.
Rishi Sunak is to meet the tech boss at a baseball match (Getty Images)Mr Karp said: “We are proud to extend our partnership with the United Kingdom, where we employ nearly a quarter of our global workforce.”
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “NHS data is very closely protected. There is no chance at all of changing that - there never would be, there never has been.”
Mr Sunak last night vowed that Britain will help protect the world from the dangers of artificial intelligence as he prepared to meet Joe Biden.
The PM announced the UK will host an international AI summit this autumn to consider measures to counter the most significant risks posed by the new technology.
Experts have warned advances in AI could “kill many humans” if it is left to develop unchecked.
Mr Sunak said Britain is the “natural place” to take the lead, saying: "You would be hard pressed to find many other countries other than the US in the western world with more expertise and talent in AI.”
Mr Sunak said it was vital to put “guardrails” in place to protect people from the technology.
"Historically the UK has got it right when we are trying to balance innovation with making sure the new technology is safe for society. We have a good track record getting that balance right,” he said.
"That's why I started that conversation. We are the only country other than the US that has brought all these people together.
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"I intend to talk about that with President Biden and lots of leaders around the world.
"This is a technology which will impact our lives and economy. It's important to have the guardrails in place. That's something I'm doing anyway for the UK but we will have that conversation more widely."
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