A variety of initiatives to promote the development, innovation, and use of AI technology throughout the UK are outlined in the recently adopted National AI Strategy.
The National AI Strategy, a 10-year strategy to position the UK as a global leader in AI technology, was unveiled by the government of the United Kingdom.
Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng said, “AI gives us new opportunities to grow and transform businesses of all sizes, and capture the benefits of innovation right across the UK.” “We are presented with the opportunity to supercharge our already admirable starting position on AI and to make these technologies central to our development as a global science and innovation superpower, as we learn from the challenges of the global pandemic and prepare for new challenges ahead.”
The three underlying hypotheses of the strategy are what the AI market will look like in ten years. First, people, data, computer power, and money are the main factors propelling the AI sector forward. Global competition to obtain a strategic edge in these sectors will be fierce.
Second, if every industry and area benefits from the shift and AI becomes the norm across most of the economy, more action will be needed. Thirdly, in order to meet the demands of artificial intelligence (AI), increase growth and competition, spur innovation, and safeguard people’s freedom of choice and safety, governance and regulatory frameworks will need to change.
The AI plan specifies three goals in response to these presumptions: make investments in the long-term requirements of the UK’s AI ecosystem; facilitate the shift to an economy that is increasingly AI-enabled; and guarantee that the UK is an expert in both national and international AI governance.
Furthermore, the government lays forth short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives centered on those three objectives. The government will publish a framework for its involvement in making data more accessible, hold a consultation on copyright and patents for AI, and outline the role of data protection in broader AI governance as part of the short-term (next three months) initiatives.
In the upcoming six to twelve months, initiatives will include establishing new visa policies to draw skilled individuals to the UK’s AI sector, increasing UK aid to support innovation in poorer nations, and testing a pilot AI standards hub to facilitate the coordination of worldwide AI standardization.
Longer-term plans call for the establishment of a joint Office for AI/UKRI program and a National AI Research and Innovation program, which will coordinate funding streams and promote the use of AI in high-potential but low-AI maturity industries. The government also intends to collaborate with interested parties to develop a toolset for technical standards in AI.
The government’s objective is commendable, and Kirstin Gillon, Technical Manager of ICAEW’s Tech Faculty, believes that the approach is a good place to start. The policy acknowledges and builds upon the substantial AI competence already possessed by the UK. To translate the goal into reality, there is still more work to be done, particularly in the regulatory area. The issue of funding is another, and we’ll be keeping a careful eye on the expenditure review to see if additional government funding is available to meet the goal.