Tag: AI Treaty

Government Announces plans to ‘unleash AI’ across UK 

In a major policy speech on Monday, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s plans to use AI across the UK with the aim of boosting growth and delivering services more efficiently. The speech was part of a response to a report by Matt Clifford, a tech entrepreneur, who was commissioned to devise the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
The key Government proposal are: 

  • Adopting all 50 recommendations made by the Clifford report. 
  • A new approach to building the infrastructure required to develop AI, including building more data centres. 
  • The creation of a series of AI “growth zones”, where planning approvals for data centres will be accelerated and there will be improved access to the energy grid. 
  • An increase in the UK’s compute capacity 20-fold by 2030, including by building a new supercomputer. 
  • Promoting more AI use in the public sector to enable its workers to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering services. Some examples were given of how AI could be used; for example to inspect roads and spot potholes around the country, and in hospitals for tasks such as diagnosing cancer more quickly.  

The full list of proposals and timescales can be read here. 

Alongside Monday’s announcement, the government revealed tech companies had committed a total of £14 billion of investment in AI infrastructure in the UK, which they expect to create 13,250 jobs. But there are serious challenges ahead in terms of the cost of the proposals, amid concerns over borrowing and the falling value of the pound, as well as the data security and privacy implications.  

There is also the challenge of regulatory uncertainty. The UK does not have any AI legislation. On this subject the Government response is not very specific; promising to ensure “we have the right regulatory regime that addresses risks and actively supports innovation will drive AI trust and adoption across the economy. The government will set out its approach on AI regulation and will act to ensure that we have a competitive copyright regime that supports both our AI sector and the creative industries.” 

When an AI Bill does finally appear, it is likely to focus on the production of large language models (LLMs), the general-purpose technology that underpins AI products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot. This is the area where there is most controversy with copyright owners, such as authors, complaining that their work has been unfairly used to train AI models. In December, the Government launched a consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.  

AI Literacy 

In his speech Keir Starmer pledged to use the power of AI to ”turbocharge” the economy and improve public services.  This requires a workforce that has the skills and understanding regarding how to develop and use AI, its opportunities and risks
i.e. AI literacy. The EU AI Act includes specific AI literacy requirements, under Article 4, which come into force on 2nd February 2025: 

“Providers and deployers of AI systems shall take measures to ensure, to their best extent, a sufficient level of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf, taking into account their technical knowledge, experience, education and training and the context the AI systems are to be used in, and considering the persons or groups of persons on whom the AI systems are to be used.” 

It will be interesting to see if any proposed UK AI legislation contains the same requirement for AI literacy.  

With the Government’s AI plans going full steam ahead it is essential that Data Protection Officers and compliance professionals develop their understanding of AI so that they can shape the future conversation and ensure that new AI tech strikes the right balance between innovation and risk management.  

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New International Treaty on AI Signed 

In September the UK, EU, and US signed the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (AI Convention). It is the world’s first AI treaty including provisions to protect the public and their data, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. 

The Convention requires signatory countries to monitor the development of AI and ensure any technology using AI is managed within strict parameters. It also commits countries to act against activities which fall outside of these parameters and to tackle the misuse of AI models which pose a risk to public services and the wider public. 

The Convention sets out 3 over-arching safeguards: 

  • protecting human rights, including ensuring people’s data is used appropriately, their privacy is respected and AI does not discriminate against them 
  • protecting democracy by ensuring countries take steps to prevent public institutions and processes being undermined 
  • protecting the rule of law, by putting the onus on signatory countries to regulate AI-specific risks, protect its citizens from potential harms and ensure it is used safely 

The Convention does not apply directly; legislators in each jurisdiction have to implement it into their domestic law and there is a wide degree of freedom over how it is interpreted and applied. The European Commission has said the Convention will be implemented in the EU via the recently enacted EU AI Act which will become enforceable in stages over the next few years.  

The UK Position 

The UK has no AI regulation (yet). Despite media reports, the recent King’s Speech did not include a bill to regulate AI. The King said that the government would “seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”. We expect a government consultation to be announced soon. However, it is likely that new AI requirements will be introduced in other forthcoming legislation e.g. the Product Safety and Metrology Bill. The published summary of this bill states that it aims to “support growth, provide regulatory stability, and deliver greater protection for consumers by addressing new product risks and opportunities, allowing the UK to keep pace with technological advances such as AI.” Managing AI in the context of product safety aligns with certain aspects of the EU AI Act.  

When an AI Bill does finally appear, it is likely to focus on the production of large language models (LLMs), the general-purpose technology that underpins AI products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot. As the Labour election manifesto stated: 

“Labour will ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models and by banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.” 

Whatever shape the UK’s AI regulation takes, the government will have to ensure that the AI Convention is implemented. Shabana Mahmood, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, said:  

“Artificial intelligence has the capacity to radically improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of public services, and turbocharge economic growth. However, we must not let AI shape us – we must shape AI. This convention is a major step to ensuring that these new technologies can be harnessed without eroding our oldest values, like human rights and the rule of law.” 

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