Government launches ten-year plan for AI
Aim is to make the UK a world leader in artificial intelligence development, ethics and governance
The government launched a ten-year plan on the use of AI.
According to the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy announced today, Wednesday, "marks a step change in the country's approach to the fastest growing emerging technology in the world".
The strategy is split into three main areas: investing in the long-term needs of the AI ecosystem; ensuring AI benefits all sectors and regions; and governing AI effectively.
The first of these includes a soon-to-be-published framework on enabling better data availability in the wider economy, which will be connected to the Government's plans to overhaul data protection plans post-Brexit. The report says it will be seeking to "determine the role of data protection in wider AI governance".
In the next three months, the government also plans to launch a consultation on copyright and patents for AI, including looking into what copyright might look like should innovations be derived from machines rather than humans.
Details about approaches the Ministry of Defence will use when adopting and using AI will also be published in due course, as will reports on AI ethics via an AI Standards Hub, in consultation with the Alan Turing Institute and work with researchers and national security advisors to reduce the risks posed by AI.
Engagement on the draft National Strategy for AI-driven technologies in Health and Social Care through the NHS AI Lab, part of NHSX, a quango focused on health innovation, will also begin shortly.
Keen to tie everything into its 'levelling up' agenda, on education and jobs the government says it will support a broader range of people to enter AI-related careers, including outside of the hotspots of London and the South East; it will also roll out new visas to attract the world's best AI talent to the UK.
Mention is also made of the US UK Declaration on Cooperation in AI R&D, announced last year, implementation of which should commence in the next 12 months.
DCMS Minister and lead author of the report, Chris Philp said: "[The strategy] focuses on three pillars which include making sure the country invests in the long term growth of AI; that it benefits all sectors and regions of the economy; and that it is governed effectively by adequate rules which encourage innovation, investment and protect the public and the country's fundamental values."
While no mention is made of the scale of any future government investments into AI, Philp, said the government has pumped more than £2.3 billion into AI since 2014, adding that its aim is to "position the UK as the best place to live and work with AI, with clear rules, applied ethical principles and a pro-innovation regulatory environment".
Director of policy at BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, Dr Bill Mitchell OBE said: "The new National AI Strategy gives the UK the best chance of developing a world-class workforce that is inclusive and diverse and also with the skills and knowledge to ethically build and deploy AI digital systems that will benefit everyone."
Interim chair of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Edwina Dunn added: "I'm delighted to see the National AI Strategy published today, setting out a plan to cement the UK's position as a global leader in the development and deployment of trustworthy AI. Putting the right governance regime in place will be crucial."
However, Niels Thone, CEO and Founder of software firm Sprout.ai questioned whether there is enough in the plans to support UK startups. "The government could also consider granting certifications to companies that are using AI, similar to an ISO," Thone said.
"This would help tech startups that meet certain standards to secure the trust of big enterprise looking to deploy AI technologies. The most significant and impactful move the Government could make to establish the UK as a world leader in AI, would be to become a buyer of AI itself as well as give tax credits to organisations or enterprises that buy AI from government-certified AI vendors."