In the US, the Democrats are already making AI a major part of their campaigns.
I wrote about what Labour might learn from this, and why it isn't so easy for our politicians to ride any tidal wave of anti-AI sentiment.
labourlist.org/2026/04/the-...
AI rose in salience more than any other issue for US voters last year, with backlash from creatives, X-risk activists, parents, workers, environmentalists and more
We expect pressure to build in 2026 as AI gets even more capable, and @ippr.org we argue governments need to urgently spread the upside
The best outcome would be collective licensing on fair terms - and a greater focus on AI outputs rather than just AI training - but at the moment AI companies hold all the power. 3/3
As we documented at @ippr.org, the stand-off between creatives and AI companies is bad for everyone. It hurts AI accuracy (see examples of AI's patchy sourcing) and it hurts our news ecosystem (publishers predict a 43% fall in traffic in three years). 2/3
Great to see the UK ditch plans to give AI companies a free-for-all on how they use creators' data.
But as government continues to sit on the fence, we are missing opportunities to shape a licensing market that is already emerging by supporting collective bargaining for creatives 1/2
Particularly excited about the AI agenda taking some good shape. IPPR has long called for UK focussing on AI application layer, do more on sovereign AI, use procurement more actively + track AI economic impacts. Eg here:
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
The BBC shouldn't have to choose between reach and integrity, and a bold charter can help enable it to partner from a position of strength. Read the full blog from @ippr.org 5/5
Charter renewal offers a chance to level the playing field with:
1. Conduct requirements for tech giants so the BBC can negotiate on fair terms
2. Prominence requirements so public service journalism is visible on social media
3. Funding and governance reform so the BBC can innovate on its own terms
This is the predictable result of a massive power imbalance where tech platforms command vast resources and face minimal regulation, while the BBC operates on a shrinking budget and under intense scrutiny.
Right now, the outcomes are bad whatever the BBC does:
It can’t opt out – it blocks AI scraping but still has content misrepresented as chatbots turn to secondary sources
And it struggles to partner effectively – its YouTube deal risks sending viewers to a commercial platform and weakening iPlayer
The BBC is facing a series of lose-lose choices. Partner with Big Tech and risk compromising what makes it unique. Or resist and fail to reach the audiences it exists to serve. @sofiahewson.bsky.social and I consider how Charter Renewal can help change this. 1/5
With the BBC, Guardian, Sky and more already signed up, this new coalition will help the news industry increase its bargaining power, but it won't be enough, and our report also maps the next steps government must take to ensure AI's impact on UK news is net positive 3/3
Our research shows that AI can't currently be relied on as a good source of news - but that the answer isn't an endless standoff between publishers and tech companies. We need a fair deal that works for both sides and that means collective licensing of news content to be used in AI answers. 2/3
So far, AI companies have held all the power to decide how they use journalists' work. Today, the UK news industry have started to change this with a new coalition that gives journalism a collective voice to push back - exactly the sort of initiative we call for in our latest @ippr.org report. 1/3
NEW: The policies of today will shape AI tools of the future. Let's make sure it improves - not destroys - our news environment. 👇
We argue that a far better future is possible. To make it happen, we need:
1. AI companies to pay for news with government support for collective licensing so that a wide range of news outlets become visible.
2. Nutrition labels for AI answers and greater user choice on preferred sources.
And, more work is needed to understand how commercial relationships between AI companies and news outlets impact prominence.
Does having a licensing deal with OpenAI mean your content will be prioritised in AI answers? And will there be transparency around how these deals work?
But - not all news sites want to be visible in AI answers. The BBC, the UK's most trusted news site, only shows up in half of AI tools. Murky rules on how content gets used mean that trying to block AI won't protect your news brand.
AI also has the potential to create new winners and losers as news sites jostle for visibility. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is starting to become the new SEO, but it won't always be the most trustworthy sites that win.
We found that AI draws on a narrow range of outlets, with each AI tool concentrating heavily on just one news site.
AI is transforming our information environment - but is it reliably delivering news content to the public?
We tested four AI tools to find out and our results reveal worrying trends:
AI is becoming a new front door to the news - 40% of 18-24 year olds use AI for information weekly and Google AI overviews reach 2 billion a month.
But we find AI isn't reliably surfacing news content - with implications for public access to information and media plurality.
Full report @ippr.org