New UK govt eager to regulate AI

The United Kingdom's new Labour Party government is prioritizing the regulation of artificial intelligence, or AI, its leader, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has said.

Starmer, who is concerned about threats from AI that include the potential for it to put huge numbers of people out of work, is expected to introduce legislation in Parliament on Wednesday to control the technology, delivering on a pledge made during the recent general election.

The promise, which was included in the party's printed election manifesto, said a Labour Party government would "ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models".

Sky News said Starmer is also concerned about the potential for AI to worsen inequality if it is left unchecked.

His anticipated legislation will be among 35 proposed bills that will be unveiled during the King's Speech, a traditional ceremony carried out at the start of each new parliamentary term in which the monarch unveils the legislative priorities of the government for the coming months.

Quoting unnamed party insiders, the Financial Times newspaper said the proposed AI legislation will focus on the production of large language models, which are the general-purpose technologies that underlay AI products including OpenAI's ChatGPT.

The legislation will be in marked contrast to the stance of former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party government, which had favored minimal intervention in the hope that largely unregulated conditions would encourage AI innovators to choose the UK as a base for their operations.

However, the Labour Party's emphasis on legislation is similar to the approach of the European Union, which introduced clear rules in March, through the bloc's Artificial Intelligence Act.

Starmer laid out the reasons why his party planned to regulate AI in a speech last year during London Tech Week, in which he said a Labour Party government would introduce "an overarching regulatory framework" that would be "stronger" than the voluntary approach taken by Sunak and his government.

"We are nowhere near where we need to be on the question of regulation," Starmer said.

While noting that AI has the power to help humanity by assisting with such things as medical diagnoses and the reform of public services, he said it could also add to problems, especially around misinformation.

"Our country is facing a choice about who benefits from the huge disruption that tech will bring," he said. "Will it be those who already hold wealth and power, or will it be the starter firms trying to break in and disrupt the industry, the patients trying to book an appointment with their GP, the worker using technology to enhance and improve their role?"

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