UK Announces £100M Investment in AI Regulation

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Facts

  • The UK government has announced an investment of more than £100M ($126M) to educate regulators on artificial intelligence (AI). £10M will go towards enhancing the skills of regulators — including the Office of Communications (OFCOM) and the Competition and Markets Authority — with another £90M ($113M) funding nine research programs focused on fields such as healthcare, chemistry, and mathematics.1
  • On top of the research programs, which will also focus on the education, telecom, and finance sectors, an additional £19M ($23M) will be allocated toward 21 projects concerning AI trust and safety. The government last year decided to educate existing regulators on the matter of AI rather than create a new regulator.2
  • Another £9M ($11M) will be sent to the government's International Science Partnership, which brings US and UK researchers together to study AI safety. Furthermore, £2M ($2.5M) will be given to the Arts and Humanities Research Council to study responsible AI.3
  • This follows the world's first-ever AI safety summit last November, hosted by the UK, during which more than 25 countries signed the 'Bletchley Declaration' — an acknowledgment that AI could cause 'serious, even catastrophic, harm.'4
  • The UK government has also asked regulators to submit their own approaches to AI by April 30. These approaches include identifying AI risks as well as plans for regulating the technology in the coming year.2

Sources: 1Verdict, 2The Irish News, 3Independent and 4Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Register. The UK has decided to take a cautious, research-based approach to tackle AI rather than a knee-jerk decision to pass laws. With the goal of becoming a world leader in AI technology, London must be careful not to overlegislate its technology sector, which would stifle innovation and its economic benefits. The UK also knows that the AI debate is still ongoing throughout the world, with governments and business leaders working to pinpoint the best response to this complex technology.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Guardian. The first draft of the UK's AI white paper was released almost a year ago, and still no concrete action has been taken. As the government spends £100M on thinking about AI, leaders in countries like Canada are proposing a billion-dollar program to create a government supercomputer to compete with private tech companies. While worries about overregulating too quickly are understandable, the UK's approach of doing nothing will neither boost innovation nor enhance safety.