As the UK’s Labour Party gathered in Liverpool this week for its annual four-day conference, a parallel conversation unfolded away from the main stage. Solana Superteam UK, an ecosystem support group for the Solana blockchain, hosted a side event on 29 September highlighting how blockchain could help solve the growing “trust crisis” in artificial intelligence (AI).

The session was part of a broader wave of crypto lobbying, as Web3 firms increasingly look to shape UK technology policy. Organised in collaboration with Labour Tech, a newly launched thinktank focused on tech strategy for the party, the event drew backing from Fabric Ventures, GSR and Syntagma Labs. It brought together industry experts, policymakers and party members to debate the risks of AI and explore blockchain-based solutions.

Tackling AI’s Transparency Problem

In a new report unveiled at the event, Solana Superteam UK pointed to the opaque and centralised nature of today’s AI systems as a growing policy challenge. Concerns around data privacy, copyright infringement and the malicious use of generative AI have fuelled widespread mistrust.

According to the report, blockchain’s immutable ledgers and verifiable records could provide much-needed transparency. Decentralised content provenance platforms such as Numbers Protocol were cited as practical examples of how blockchain could track the origins of training data and protect intellectual property. Similarly, projects like Autonolas and Fetch.AI were highlighted for their experiments with decentralised governance models to ensure fairer oversight of AI systems.

“Centralised AI frameworks are creating a trust deficit,” the report argued. “Blockchains offer a path to accountability and transparency.”

Decentralised Tools, Practical Limits

While optimistic about blockchain’s role in provenance tracking and governance, the Solana-backed study was more cautious on the prospect of fully decentralised AI networks replacing Big Tech platforms.

Performance limitations remain a sticking point. Decentralised AI projects like BitTensor were described as “marginal”, hampered by slower speeds and limited scalability compared to centralised players such as OpenAI and Google. The report concluded that, at present, the preference for decentralised models may be “more ideological than practical.”

Nevertheless, the authors stressed that the ideological case matters in politics. By embedding transparency and accountability at the infrastructure layer, blockchains could offer policymakers and citizens greater confidence in how AI systems are built and deployed.

Crypto Lobbying Gains Momentum in the UK

The Labour conference setting was no coincidence. With Labour widely expected to form the next government, technology policy is emerging as a battleground for industry lobbying. Labour Tech, the partner thinktank, was launched precisely to craft forward-looking strategies that could balance innovation with regulation.

By framing blockchain as a safeguard against AI’s excesses, Solana positioned itself at the intersection of two high-profile policy debates. The message resonated with some attendees, even as senior Labour figures wrestled with internal divisions and leadership challenges elsewhere in the conference.

The event also underscored the increasing sophistication of crypto lobbying in the UK. Once dismissed as a fringe sector, blockchain firms are now engaging directly with political parties, policy experts and civil society groups to push for recognition and influence.

Outlook: Ideology Meets Implementation

For Solana and its partners, the Labour conference event was less about immediate policy wins and more about setting the agenda. By linking blockchain to AI, one of the most urgent and contentious tech issues of the decade, the ecosystem signaled its ambition to be part of the policy conversation at the highest level.

Scepticism remains about the scalability of decentralised AI, but blockchain’s potential role in verification, provenance and governance is harder to dismiss. Whether Labour integrates these ideas into its technology framework remains to be seen. What is clear is that Web3 has entered the political mainstream and Solana is keen to ensure its voice is heard.