The U.K. government may reject legislation that requires safety screening of artificial intelligence technologies, according to the tech find committee’s chair. Chi Onwurah, a member of Labor, speculated that the delay may be a result of political efforts to align more closely with the United States, especially the Trump base’s vocal opposition to AI rules.
One of the main goals of the AI Safety Bill is to officially sanction that businesses uphold their voluntary contracts to send border AI models for state security evaluations before implementation. In November 2023, nine businesses signed such contracts with a number of foreign governments, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.
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Technology Secretary Peter Kyle promised to put the policy into effect in the upcoming season in November 2024. Chi Onwurah, the Labour head of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee, was at the time concerned about whether that is true. She told The Guardian at the time.
transatlantic ties and social influences
The commission has raised the lack of an AI safety act with Patrick Vallance, the scientific minister, and whether that is in response to the major criticism of how Europe approaches AI, led by J. D. Vance and Elon Musk, was raised, she continued.
U.S. Vice President Vance disparaged Europe’s usage of “excessive rules” in a speech at the Paris AI Action Summit in which he argued that the global strategy if “foster the creation of Artificial technology rather than kill it.”
Through the AI Act and various continued regulatory battles with big tech companies, Europe has strengthened its pro-regulation reputation, which has led to severe fines. Trump, who addressed the charges at the World Economic Forum in January as” a form of taxes,” is no mystery about his dissatisfaction with this.
View: Meta to Address EU Regulation Issues Immediately Trump, Says Global Affairs Chief
In an effort to satisfy the Trump administration, U.K. officials have stated last month in an unnamed source to The Guardian that they do not plan to publish the AI Bill before the summertime. However, this is just one recent example of how the nation is attempting to keep the States on their part.
Technology versus safety: The UK’s tactical move
The U.K.’s AI monitoring system was changed from the AI Safety Institute to the AI Security Institute last month, a change that some people saw as a transition away from a risk-averse approach and toward national attention gardening. The AI Opportunities Action Plan, which placed innovation at the forefront and made little mention of AI safety, was released in January by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He also abstained from the Paris AI Summit, where the U.K. and the U.S. both declined to sign a global pledge for “inclusive and sustainable” AI.
The shift to policymaking that places emphasis on innovation has implications for economics. A Microsoft report found that adding five years to the time it takes to introduce AI could cost more than £150 billion. In the U.K., stricter regulations could also deter well-known tech companies like Google and Meta from expanding, which raises questions from investors.
The government is clear in its ambition to pass legislation that will allow us to safely realize the enormous advantages and opportunities of the technology for years to come, according to a spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
We will continue to refine our proposals to encourage innovation and investment in order to strengthen our position as one of the top three AI powers in the world. We will also launch a public consultation in due course.
