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On 22 September 2021, the government published the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy Paper (the AI Strategy Paper). The aim of the AI Strategy Paper was for the UK to deal with national and international governance of AI technologies, to encourage innovation and to protect the public and the UK’s fundamental values. As part of this paper, a consultation on copyright and patents for AI was held through the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
On 29 March 2023, a White Paper on AI was published by the UK government (the AI White Paper) with proposals how to regulate AI in the UK. In response to the AI White Paper, the government set out a roadmap to regulating AI on 6 February 2024.
The UK will not have one single overarching AI legislation/ regulation, but the AI White Paper proposes an industry sector specific approach whereby AI is regulated by sector regulators. The UK government recognises that AI is a general purpose technology that has applications in many industry sectors.
The UK government asked UK regulators to publish an outline of their approach to AI by 30 April 2024, in order for the different approaches to be taken into account in new legislation. Various UK regulators have published such outlines, such as the Bank of England, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Legal Services Board, the Competitions and Markets Authority, the Financial Conducts Authority, the Health and Safety Executive etc.
That means that the use and regulation of AI will be handled in a piecemeal approach led by specific industries whereby (a) new provisions are being incorporated into various existing legislation and (b) new legislation will be issued to complement existing legislation.
Multiple draft legislations are in the process of being circulated and debated in Parliament and the UK House of Lords. Some of which might be dropped, others might be adopted and result in new legislation:
• In November 2023 the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Private Members Bill was introduced into the House of Lords which aimed to create a central AI authority to oversee the regulatory framework for AI. This bill was dropped and will not proceed following the general election in May 2024 and the change of UK government.
• In April 2024 the Artificial Intelligence (Employment and Regulation) Bill was published which aims to regulate AI in the workplace. This draft bill/ legislation defines AI as follows:
“artificial intelligence system” means a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different artificial intelligence systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.” (paragraph 2)
• On 9 September 2024 the Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill was introduced to the House of Lords which aims to mitigate risks to individuals from AI use. The bill/ draft legislation does not contain a definition of AI, but it refers to ‘algorithmic and automated decision-making systems’ which include:
“(a) Any system, tool or statistical model used to inform, recommend or make an administrative decision about a service user or a group of service users, and
(b) Systems in development, excluding automated decision-making systems operating in test environments.”
Do UK businesses need to comply with EU AI legislation?
As the UK is no longer a member of the EU, it can diverge from the EU approach. The UK does not have to automatically comply with EU regulations, including the EU AI Act. However, UK businesses that operate in the EU or sell AI related products or services within the EU will still need to comply with the EU AI Act.
The UK regulators and UK government also recognise that it could be challenging for UK businesses that operate in multiple jurisdictions, if UK legislation was to create huge differences to EU or other International legislation. Seeing the UK’s slow progress in this respect, it is not clear yet how the government will balance its flexible ‘pro-innovation’ approach with its aim to align the UK regulatory framework to global frameworks in order to keep UK businesses competitive internationally.
For more information about any of the issues covered in this update, or if you have any questions about regulation on artificial intelligence, please contact dispute resolution solicitor Beatrice Bass.
