The UK Government has brought out a white paper detailing its plans for what it terms a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation.
One of five principles to guide and inform the responsible development and use of AI is ‘safety, security and robustness’.
Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “AI has the potential to make Britain a smarter, healthier and happier place to live and work. Artificial intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction, and the pace of AI development is staggering, so we need to have rules to make sure it is developed safely. Our new approach is based on strong principles so that people can trust businesses to unleash this technology of tomorrow.”
For the document, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-regulation-a-pro-innovation-approach.
In a foreword to the document, Michelle Donelan spoke of an ‘common-sense, outcomes-oriented approach’, and said that risks posed by AI to address could include ‘physical harm, an undermining of national security, as well as risks to mental health. The development and deployment of AI can also present ethical challenges which do not always have clear answers. Unless we act, household consumers, public services and businesses will not trust the technology and will be nervous about adopting it’.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says that over the next 12 months, regulators will issue practical guidance to organisations, as well as other tools and resources like risk assessment templates, to set out how to set these principles in their sectors. When parliamentary time allows, legislation could be introduced for regulators to consider the principles consistently. The paper however sets out that regulators are to take a lead. A consultation will run until June 21.
In more detail, the document points out that pattern-recognition and recursive learning as done by AI are likely to play an increasingly significant role in ‘proactive cyber defence’. AI tools however equally can be used to automate ‘highly targeted cyber attacks’.
The April print edition of Professional Security magazine features an interview with Pauline Norstrom of Anekanta Consulting on AI.
Comment
Mike Loukides, Vice President of Emerging Technology at O’Reilly, said: “The UK government has published five principles to guide the use of artificial intelligence in the UK. What’s notable about these principles is that they’re addressing real problems and harms that are caused by AI now. In that respect, there’s a sharp contrast between these principles and other calls for “moratoriums” and such. The UK is addressing real, concrete issues: fairness, security, accountability, and redress of harms, not fantasies about what might or might not happen if we somehow manage to build a hyper-intelligent AI. This is an excellent start. And while there’s been a lot of discussion, I’ve seen few signs that private industry is interested in these issues of responsible use.
“The bigger issues come when we start talking about enforcement. Is this a proposal for legislation? I haven’t seen any industry that’s good at self regulation. However, unless British lawmakers are much more responsible and well informed than lawmakers in the US, you need to be careful what you ask for, because you might get it. I don’t see much good coming out of regulation developed and passed by people who are ignorant of technology in general, let alone AI in particular.
“The UK has made a great start and is headed in the right direction. I hope that they can stay headed in the right direction.”
