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On Thursday 28 June, Government published its response to the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Select Committee’s report on AI in the UK: Ready, Willing and Able?

The Government’s response is broadly supportive of the Committee’s recommendations and they’ve used the response as an opportunity to highlight the steps Government has taken to ensure the appropriate entities and initiatives exist to address the possibilities that AI can offer.

According to the Government’s response, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, the Office for Artificial Intelligence, and the AI Council will collectively ensure Government addresses the Grand Challenge on AI and Data; positioning the UK as a global leader on AI. The report also recognises that coordination between institutions operating in this space is vital.

The response touches on the Government’s commitment to work with businesses to develop an agile approach to regulation that promotes innovation and the growth of new sectors, whilst protecting citizens and the environment. To this end, the Government is establishing a Ministerial Working Group on Future Regulation to scan the horizon and identify the areas where regulation needs to adapt to support emerging technologies such as AI, supported by the Office for AI and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. 

The role of the new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation is continuously referenced throughout the Government’s response. The Centre is expected to advise Government and regulators on the ethics of data and its use, including for AI -- where a core function will be to partner with the Office for AI in the design of data sharing frameworks including Data Trusts.

Whilst the response recognises the transformative potential for artificial intelligence on society and the economy, it equally acknowledges the need to address the concerns and risks associated with AI.  The report highlights the need to mitigate the risk of potential erroneous decisions made by AI through legal liability. The Office for Artificial Intelligence, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, and the AI Council will, as appropriate, need to engage the Law Commission on best course of action.

According to the response, Government believes that transparency of algorithms is important, but for development of AI an overemphasis on transparency may be both a deterrent and is some cases such as deep learning prohibitively difficult. Such considerations need to be balanced against positive impacts use of AI brings. The response signposted to the new Alan Turing Institute, which has been working to address these issues.

Now that the Government’s response to the report has been received, a debate is expected to be timetabled in the House of Lords imminently. If you have any further questions about the report or the Government response, please contact Katherine Mayes.