The sovereignty plan is... no plan
Plus what to watch next week.
Happy Friday,
Should Britain publish a sovereignty plan? MPs have long been calling for one, but the government is resisting even coming up with a definition.
Instead, the business secretary has told MPs to judge ministers on their investment decisions. There've been plenty of announcements lately pointing to the government's direction, with another one yesterday.
AI is accelerating entrepreneurship
Technology is making it easier to start a business and reach customers around the world.
According to Shopify data, 78% of merchants globally built their own store and 43% more made their first sale within a day of signing up compared to 2022.
Once they are up and running, they also sell internationally. In the UK, export sales are up 136% since 2022.
For an economy looking to export more, The Entrepreneur Effect shows how technology is lowering the barriers to starting up and selling abroad.
Happening Today 📆
In London: The World AI Regulation Summit continues with speakers from the UN, European Parliament and FCA. InnovateUK hosts the National Quantum Technologies Showcase with 3,500 people expected.
Next Week: It's The Times Tech Summit on Tuesday, while at the British Library it's the Future of Knowledge Conference. (We'll have reporters at both). Databricks brings its AI World Tour to the Excel London on Wednesday. The IPPR hosts an event in Parliament on Wednesday on sovereignty.
Parliament: On Tuesday, MPs on the Education Committee take evidence on AI in schools, the Lords' Communications and Digital Committee asks legal experts about the Online Safety Act. On Thursday it's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport questions in the Commons. MPs are asking about horse racing, lidos and the Isle of Wight, but only one about tech. On Friday, it's the second reading of Alex Sobel's Artificial Superintelligence Bill and Chi Onwurah's Digital Twins Bill.
In today's edition:
🇬🇧 Who needs a sovereignty strategy? Not us.
🤝 OpenAI has made its marketing chief its new UK boss — and makes a pledge on data centres.
