Artificial intelligence – the opportunity and the challenge. A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation

Artificial intelligence – the opportunity and the challenge.

1. Artificial intelligence (AI) already delivers wide societal benefits, from medical advances to mitigating climate change. For example, an AI technology developed by DeepMind, a UK-based business, can now predict the structure of almost every protein known to science. This breakthrough will accelerate scientific research and the development of life-saving medicines. It has helped scientists make huge progress in combating malaria, antibiotic resistance, and plastic waste.

2. The UK Science and Technology Framework sets out the government’s strategic vision and identifies AI as one of 5 critical technologies. The framework notes the role of regulation in creating the environment for AI to flourish. We know we have yet to see AI technologies reach their full potential. Under the right conditions, AI will transform all areas of life and stimulate the UK economy by unleashing innovation and driving productivity, creating new jobs and improving the workplace.

3. Across the world, countries and regions are beginning to draft the rules for AI. The UK needs to act quickly to continue to lead the international conversation on AI governance and demonstrate the value of our pragmatic, proportionate regulatory approach. The need to act was highlighted by Sir Patrick Vallance in his recent Regulation for Innovation review. The report identifies the short time frame for government intervention to provide a clear, pro-innovation regulatory environment to make the UK one of the top places in the world to build foundational AI companies.

4. While we should capitalize on the benefits of these technologies, we should also not overlook the new risks that may arise from their use, nor the unease that the complexity of AI technologies can produce in the wider public. We already know that some uses of AI could damage our physical[footnote 8] and mental health, infringe on the privacy of individuals and undermine human rights.

5. Public trust in AI will be undermined unless these risks and wider concerns about the potential for bias and discrimination are addressed. By building trust, we can accelerate the adoption of AI across the UK to maximize the economic and social benefits the technology can deliver while attracting investment and stimulating the creation of high-skilled AI jobs. To maintain the UK’s position as a global AI leader, we need to ensure that the public continues to see how the benefits of AI can outweigh the risks.

6. Responding to risk and building public trust are important drivers for regulation. However, clear and consistent regulation can also support business investment and build confidence in innovation. Throughout our extensive engagement, the industry repeatedly emphasized that consumer trust is key to the success of innovation economies. We, therefore, need a clear, proportionate approach to regulation that enables the responsible application of AI to flourish. Instead of creating cumbersome rules applying to all AI technologies, our framework ensures that regulatory measures are proportionate to context and outcomes by focusing on the use of AI rather than the technology itself.

7. People and organizations develop and use AI in the UK within the rules set by our existing laws, informed by standards, guidance, and other tools. However, AI is a general-purpose technology, and its use can cut across regulatory remits. As a result, AI technologies are currently regulated through a complex patchwork of legal requirements. We are concerned by feedback from across industries that the absence of cross-cutting AI regulation creates uncertainty and inconsistency, which can undermine business and consumer confidence in AI and stifle innovation. By providing a clear and unified approach to regulation, our framework will build public confidence, making it clear that AI technologies are subject to cross-cutting, principles-based regulation.