The UK government said it will "avoid heavy-handed legislation" on artificial intelligence (AI) in order to try and encourage more investment.
It was perhaps unfortunate for Downing Street that this came on the same day that a group of 1,000 tech experts led by Elon Musk issued a warning about the “dangerous” arms race in AI and worries were raised about big tech companies cutting their AI ethics teams.
The light-touch regulatory approach was set out as a key principle of a proposed regulatory framework published by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in a white paper today, saying this would avoid stifling innovation.
There will not be a single regulator for AI under the proposals, with existing regulators, including the Competition & Markets Authority, Health & Safety Executive and Equality & Human Rights Commission, instead asked to cobble together "approaches that suit the way AI is actually being used in their sectors" based on five principles.
These principles are:
- applications of AI should be secure, safe and robust with risks carefully managed
- organisations developing and deploying AI need to be transparent on when and how the technology is used, including explaining a system’s decision-making process
- compliance with the UK’s existing laws, such as on equalities and on data sharing
- there must be appropriate oversight of the way AI is being used and accountability for outcomes
- the public must be able to dispute harmful outcomes or decisions generated by AI
"This approach will mean the UK’s rules can adapt as this fast-moving technology develops, ensuring protections for the public without holding businesses back from using AI technology to deliver stronger economic growth, better jobs, and bold new discoveries that radically improve people’s lives," the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said in a statement.
A consultation on the proposals was launched today to allow companies and individuals to share their views on the development of the rules.
Microsoft UK chief executive Clare Barclay said the company welcomed the proposals, saying: "If the UK is to succeed and lead in the age of intelligence, then it is critical to create an environment that fosters innovation, whilst ensuring an ethical and responsible approach."
Elsewhere in the world of AI on Thursday, the letter signed by the likes of Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and several top AI professors and CEOs called for the creation of shared safety protocols audited by independent experts to ensure that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence are safe beyond a reasonable doubt.
The letter said people should ask themselves questions such as: "Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?"
It said decisions such as these "must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders", with powerful AI systems developed "only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable".