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In its response to last year’s AI regulation white paper, the UK government has announced that more than £100m will be spent preparing for regulation and safe use of AI, amid an ongoing bid to make the country a world leader in the field.
As laid out in the white paper, the government will use existing regulatory bodies to monitor AI use within each sector, rather than creating a central AI regulator. It said that this ‘agile’ approach is more appropriate for the challenge as the technology is developing so rapidly that risks and their mitigations are still not fully understood. This means that no new AI-specific regulation will be introduced at this point.
“The UK’s innovation approach to AI regulation has made us a world leader in both AI safety and AI development,” said technology secretary Michelle Donelan. “I am personally driven by AI’s potential to transform our public services and the economy for the better, leading to new treatments for cruel diseases like cancer and dementia, and opening the door to advanced skills and technology that will power the British economy of the future.
“AI is moving fast, but we have shown that humans can move just as fast. By taking an agile, sector-specific approach, we have begun to grip the risks immediately, which in turn is paving the way for the UK to become one of the first countries in the world to reap the benefits of AI safety.”
The large majority of the money allocated, £90m, will go towards launching new AI research hubs across the UK. These hubs will be tasked with investigating ways of using AI responsibly across health, chemistry and mathematics research.
Around £19m will go towards 21 projects that aim to develop trusted AI tools that could boost productivity, while £10m will go towards helping prepare and upskill regulators across various sectors, spanning finance, health, education and telecommunications.
The fund aims to help regulators carry out research and develop tools to monitor and address AI risks in their sectors in the coming years.
This new round of funding follows £100m spent on launching the AI Safety Institute, which aims to prepare the UK for unexpected leaps in AI development by developing the infrastructure required to govern the technology.
As part of its response to the AI regulation white paper, the government has also asked key regulators – including Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – to publish their approaches to managing AI. This will require the regulators to identify AI-related risks and make plans for regulating them.
Labour’s shadow minister for AI and intellectual property Matt Rodda said: “While it is welcome to see the government finally setting out some information about this crucial technology, ministers are still missing a plan to introduce legislation that safely grasps the many opportunities AI presents. The [US] issued an executive order setting out rules and regulations to keep US citizens safe and the EU is currently finalising legislation, but the UK is still lagging far behind with this white paper response being reportedly repeatedly delayed.
“Unlike the Tories, Labour sees AI as fundamental to our mission to grow the economy. We will seize the opportunities AI offers to revolutionise healthcare, boost the NHS and improve our public services, with safety baked in at every stage of the process.”
Michal Szymczak, head of tech strategy at software firm Zartis, said: “Until now, AI regulation has been moving too fast, and there’s already too much of it. New rules must be introduced in a way that doesn’t kill innovation. The EU, in particular, is trying to push through regulation more quickly without knowing its capabilities.
“The UK government’s intention to adopt a more agile approach to regulation that drives innovation is a positive sign. While safety considerations are fundamental, we must ensure that new laws don’t stifle innovation.
“Today’s response from the UK government seems to strike the right balance, addressing the need for regulatory oversight while recognising that we are still very early in adopting AI, and it has the potential to help countries, let alone businesses, grow in a way we can’t imagine. Any regulation must not curtail this.”
