The United Kingdom has embarked on the development of regulatory frameworks aimed at governing artificial intelligence, particularly targeting the most advanced language models, insiders familiar with the matter revealed.
Policy officials within the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology are in the initial stages of formulating legislation designed to mitigate potential risks associated with this burgeoning technology, as per individuals who preferred to remain anonymous due to the preliminary nature of the proposals. While no specific bill is imminent, sources suggest that the government is inclined to wait until an upcoming AI conference in France, slated for either later this year or early next year, to initiate a consultation on the subject.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who convened the inaugural world leaders’ summit on AI last year and has consistently advocated for cautious deliberation in regulating AI, faces the risk of lagging behind the United States and the European Union in implementing regulatory frameworks for the industry. While the EU recently enacted comprehensive legislation to oversee AI, Chinese companies are mandated to obtain approvals prior to offering AI services, and certain cities and states in the US have enacted laws restricting the utilization of AI in specific domains.
The reassessment of AI regulation was initially reported by the Financial Times.
Moreover, officials from both the technology department and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport have proposed potential amendments to UK copyright laws to enable entities and individuals to opt out of permitting language models to extract their content—a matter of particular concern for the entertainment sector, according to insiders.
Sunak’s office is deliberating on whether to initiate a consultation regarding the copyright issue, which is distinct from the broader AI legislation being developed by the government. There remains a disparity of opinions between the creative industries and technology enterprises on this issue.
In response to inquiries on Monday regarding the government’s intentions regarding AI legislation, Dave Pares, spokesperson for Sunak, stated that while the UK is not hastening the process, it has consistently maintained that all nations will eventually need to introduce some form of AI legislation.
During last year’s UK-hosted AI summit, the United States, China, and 26 other nations committed to collaborative efforts aimed at safeguarding against the potential adverse impacts of artificial intelligence.
