The government has fully accepted the recommendations of a report by its outgoing chief science adviser, Patrick Vallancein the regulation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), but also drones and space technologies.
Of these, the most important is putting in place what he and his team – he considered Priya Lakhani, founder of an artificial intelligence education technology company called Century Tech, and Matt Clifford , chairman of Aria, the British agency for advanced research and invention. – call it a “sandbox”. This is billed as a “live testing environment, with well-defined rule easing, to allow innovators and entrepreneurs to experiment with new products or services under heightened regulatory oversight without the risk of fines or liability.”
THE Sandboxas expected, must be supervised by the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum which includes Ofcom, ICO, CMA and FCA. It’s about being a time-limited host of technology ready for a commercial breakthrough and representing either an answer to a great social challenge or an opportunity for the UK to be a global leader.
For starters, the sandbox will address areas where regulatory uncertainty exists, “like generative AI [and] AI-based medical devices”. The report also suggests that it could be closely linked to the ICO sandbox on personal data applications.
For its part, the ICO issued a statement regarding the government’s response to the Vallance report: “Given the opportunities offered by AI, we know that we have a crucial role to play in helping innovators develop new products. and safe and reliable services. We’ve published plenty of guidance in this area, as well as practical support for innovators through our regulatory sandbox.
“But in a rapidly evolving field like AI, there is always more to do, and we welcome the focus this report will bring. We will continue to prioritize our work in this area – including directions we are working on, including on the processing of AI-related personal data as a service – and we look forward to discussing the recommendations in the report with our DRCF Partners and the government.
The report on digital technologies was commissioned by the government following the Autumn Chancellor’s Statement 2022. It’s part of a broader program of work on how the UK can better regulate emerging technologies.
Regarding the sandbox recommendation, the government said it would “engage regulators” to prepare for the launch of said sandbox. More details are promised in an upcoming AI whitepaper.
The report’s second recommendation – “the government should announce a clear policy position on the relationship between intellectual property law and generative AI in order to provide confidence to innovators and investors” – prompted a decision by the Office of intellectual property to “produce a code of practice by the summer that will provide guidance to help AI companies access copyrighted work as input to their models, while ensuring that it there are protections (e.g., labeling) on the generated output to support rights holders of the copyrighted work”.
The third recommendation – “Government should facilitate better industry access to public data and prioritize wider sharing and linking of data across the public sector, to help deliver the transformation agenda of government public services” – was met with mentions of a “government data marketplace” to be in place by 2025 and of the Office for National Statistics Integrated Data Servicewhich will be in public beta by March 31, it is said.
Recommendations regarding the future of transportation, the use of drones and space technologies revolve around thorny issues involved in relatively new developments such as autonomous vehicles, drone operating standards and liability limits for drone operators. satellites. On the latter, the government has said it intends to propose a “variable limit approach at the end of March, before formal consultation on this and other liability and insurance issues in June”. .
The Cybersecurity Report’s recommendation – “amend the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to include a public interest legal defense that would provide stronger legal protection for researchers and cybersecurity professionals, and have a catalytic effect on innovation in a sector with considerable growth potential” – the government only said that the “Home Office has a live consultation and work program in the works”.
