UK government’s AI strategy to rely on existing regulations instead of new laws
The UK government has today published a white paper outlining its plans to regulate general purpose artificial intelligence.
The paper, published by the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), sets out guidelines for what it calls “responsible use” and outlines five principles it wants companies to follow. They are: safety, security and robustness; transparency and explainability; fairness; accountability and governance; and contestability and redress.
However, in order to “avoid heavy-handed legislation which could stifle innovation”, the government has opted not to give responsibility for AI governance to a new single regulator, instead calling on existing regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Competition and Markets Authority to come up with their own approaches that best suit the way AI is being used in their sectors.