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AI bill expected in Starmer’s first King’s Speech in shift from Sunak

Keir Starmer AI London Tech Week
Image credit: London Tech Week

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to introduce a new AI bill in the King’s Speech this Wednesday, in what would mark a clear shift from his predecessor Rishi Sunak.

The bill is expected to focus on the production of large language models and will aim to improve the legal safeguards surrounding advanced AI technologies, the Financial Times reported.

The bill is one of 35 expected to be announced tomorrow and is likely to impact the UK’s AI startup ecosystem, which attracted a quarter of tech investment in the first half of the year.

The Cabinet Office declined to comment.

While Sunak’s government focused on AI safety, most notably through a first-of-its-kind summit at Bletchley Park, he was hesitant to go down the legislative route.

Sunak feared that legislation would stifle industry growth and instead relied on voluntary agreements with governments and companies, ruling out legislation in the short term.

In May, 16 companies including OpenAI and Amazon signed up to the Conservative government’s voluntary AI safety standards. However, these standards were criticised for lacking enough depth and for being non-binding.

Meanwhile, the European Union has already approved legislation to regulate AI across the bloc.

Ahead of the King’s speech, Starmer said: “Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste. We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.

“From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbocharge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.”

Other bills expected to be announced in the King’s Speech include a National Wealth Fund to invest £7.3bn over five years, with a focus on green infrastructure and technology.

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