A runaway train

There was a good letter in the New Statesman today. Well, I would say that wouldn’t I since I wrote it. Its subject matter should concern us all, given that the methodology and progress of privatisation is happening with alarming and somewhat below-the-radar speed thanks to new technology. New technologies are the handmaidens of new forms of capitalism. All the talk of ‘late stage’ capitalism is meaningless, just as talk of late-stage snake skins would be. In the particular context of my letter it is clear that the Thatcherite model of purchaser and provider of public services is moving very advantageously in favour of the ‘provider’ since the purchaser increasingly lacks the skills to assess providers’ inflated promises.
 
‘Will Dunn has once again delivered the goods, although I think one question was missed: who in government really knows what it is they are buying when procuring AI contracts? Who actually has the expertise to make informed decisions and resist the encomiums of the AI 'revolutionaries' (T. Blair included)? I suspect, contra Rachel Reeves' promise to cut government hired consultants by half in this parliament, that more consultants will be drawn in to advise ministers on the appropriate AI solution for their problems. That famous revolving door between the public and private sector is soon to be replaced by a spinning top built by AI companies and 'expert' consultants who never owed allegiance to public service. The whole AI business reeks of 'love at first sight' on a scam dating app. The consequences of this unchecked mad rush have not been weighed but I'm sure certain bank balances have.’