25/01/2018

UK PM prioritises AI regulation

BBC reports that prime minister Theresa May will set out Britain's target to become a world leader in regulating artificial intelligence at the World Economic Forum today.

Theresa will be at the forum in Davos today and will announce that the UK will join the Davos forum's own council on artificial intelligence in order to co-ordinate efforts with other countries.

With Google, facebook, the US and China all involved in the race for 'AI dominance', Theresa has picked a tough battle to win, but she claims that the UK is recognised as the first in the world to be ready to 'bring artificial intelligence into government' with a new AI-related company created in the UK every week for the last three years.

However, Theresa will also highlight that many people are uncomfortable with what AI will bring to their lives, with potential job losses at the forefront of their minds.

Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that AI could 'spell the end of the human race' while Facebook's AI chief Yann LeCun is less concerned saying he is confident society will develop 'the checks and balances' necessary to prevent an apocalypse coming to pass.

The UK has set up a new advisory body, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to work on the AI regulation.