Nick Clegg scoffs at AI doom warnings, saying tech bosses are 'breathing their own fumes'

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026 · last updated 25 September 2026.

Nick Clegg has dismissed apocalyptic warnings about artificial intelligence as self-serving nonsense from executives who have lost perspective. The former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister — now a tech investor with stakes in UK datacentre firm Nscale and AI startup AMI Labs — told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that fears of a 'godlike' AI exterminating humanity amount to little more than Silicon Valley groupthink.

Clegg argued that doom-mongering of this kind conveniently suggests only a small oligopoly of tech giants can keep the world safe, shutting down meaningful political debate.

He urged attention to tangible, well-defined dangers — cybersecurity and bioweapons — rather than 'hand-wavy' superintelligence scenarios, noting that one AI lab chief described the prevailing conversation as 'totally silly'.

Clegg's concerns about the concentration of power sit awkwardly alongside his holding of more than 917,000 Nscale shares, raising pointed questions about whose interests are served.