‘SERIOUS, EVEN CATASTROPHIC, HARM’: UK TO SPEND $125M ON AI HUBS, REGULATION

The UK has announced plans to invest more than 100 million pounds ($125 million) in artificial intelligence (AI) research and training.

In line with plans unveiled on Tuesday, the government would establish nine new AI research hubs around the United Kingdom, fund studies looking into the ethical application of AI in the creative, policing, and educational sectors, and provide regulators with training on how to balance the pros and cons of the technology.

“AI is moving fast, but we have shown that humans can move just as fast. By taking an agile, sector-specific approach, we have begun to grip the risks immediately, which in turn is paving the way for the UK to become one of the first countries in the world to reap the benefits of AI safely,” Donelan said in a statement.

Executives at leading players in AI, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon, welcomed the government’s announcement.

“The hub and spoke model will help the UK benefit from the domain expertise of regulators, as well as provide clarity to the AI ecosystem – and I’m particularly supportive of the commitment to support regulators with further resources,”  Google DeepMind’s Chief Operating Officer Lila Ibrahim said in a statement.

The UK in November launched the world’s first institute dedicated to AI safety and hosted a global summit on the topic, at which more than 25 countries signed the so-called Bletchley Declaration acknowledging the technology’s risks of “serious, even catastrophic, harm”.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to position his country as a leader in AI regulation, arguing that only governments can properly assess the risks of the technology and possess the “power and legitimacy to keep their people safe”.