The UK government’s AI white paper falls short of meeting industry and consumer needs, according to a report from the Ada Lovelace Institute.
The institute’s ‘Regulating AI in the UK’ report claimed the existing regulatory network for AI currently has “significant gaps” in areas such as recruitment, policing and parts of the private sector.
The report said that relying on existing regulators and legislation could in many cases fail to protect people from harm. It recommended the establishment of an “AI ombudsman” in charge of responding to people affected by AI.
The independent research institute, which is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, also noted that governing AI would be resource-intensive. It called for regulators and relevant civil servants to receive “dramatically” increased funding for AI-specific duties.
The report also took issue with the timeline of the government’s plan, which includes at least one year before implementation. According to the institute, the pace at which AI is moving calls for swifter action.
“The government rightfully recognises that the UK has a unique opportunity to be a world leader in AI regulation and the prime minister should be commended for his global leadership on this issue,” said Michael Birtwistle, associate director at the Ada Lovelace Institute.
“However, the UK’s credibility on AI regulation rests on the government’s ability to deliver a world-leading regulatory regime at home.”
Birtwistle added that while efforts towards international coordination are “very welcome”, they are “not sufficient” and therefore the government must “strengthen its domestic proposals for regulation if it wants to be taken seriously on AI and achieve its global ambitions”.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke yesterday to the UN Security Council about the need for international players to come together to manage the growth of AI.
The report marks one of the latest of several high-profile criticism of the prime minister’s plan to govern the rapidly developing industry.
In a recent interview with UKTN, Labour MP and tech advocate Darren Jones called out the white paper for entrusting the management of AI to existing regulatory bodies that are under-resourced to deal with the technology and lack proper communication with each other.
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