Parliamentarians call for AI regulation

More than a hundred UK politicians have called on the government to introduce strong regulations governing the use and development of artificial intelligence. Those calling for change encompass Westminster MPs, peers and elected representatives of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish legislatures. They cross parties and include both a former AI minister and former defence secretary.

The call for strong regulation is being championed by Control AI, a non-profit organisation. Andrea Miotti, chief executive of Control AI criticised the “timid approach” by governments so far and said: “There has been a lot of lobbying from the UK and US. AI companies are lobbying governments in the UK and US to stall regulation arguing it is premature and would crush innovation. Some of these are the same companies who say AIs could destroy humanity.”

Miotti went on to say that with current developments in AI, mandatory standards would be need in the next year or two, adding. “It’s quite urgent”.

In their 2024 manifesto, the government states that “Labour will ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models”. However no legislation has yet been produced and the UK government has been under pressure from the US administration to permit AI development from US companies.

A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said: “AI is already regulated in the UK, with a range of existing rules already in place. We have been clear on the need to ensure the UK and its laws are ready for the challenges and opportunities AI will bring and that position has not changed.”

Conservative peer, and former environment minister, Zac Goldsmith, who supports Control AI’s campaign, said that “even while very significant and senior figures in AI are blowing the whistle, governments are miles behind the AI companies and are leaving them to pursue its development with virtually no regulation”. He went on to say that the UK should “resume its global leadership on AI security by championing an international agreement to prohibit the development of superintelligence until we know what we are dealing with and how to contain it”.

Another supporter, Labour peer and former defence secretary Des Browne, said that superintelligent AI “would be the most perilous technological development since we gained the ability to wage nuclear war”.

The bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, is also backing the campaign from Control AI. He has called for an AI watchdog to regulate use of artificial intelligence in the public sector, as well as minimum testing standards for AI companies.

“There are all kinds of risks and the government doesn’t seem to have adopted a precautionary principle,” he said. “At the moment there are significant risks: the mental health of children and adults, the environmental costs and other big risks in terms of the alignment of generalised AI and [the question of] what is good for humanity. The government seems to be moving away from regulation.”

Commenting on the pace of AI development, Tom Lue, vice-president with responsibility for policy, legal, safety and governance for Google DeepMind said: “If it’s just a race and all gas, no brakes and it’s basically a race to the bottom, that’s a terrible outcome for society”. Earlier this year, Yoshua Bengio, a computer scientist known as one of the ‘godfathers of AI’, said: “A sandwich has more regulation than AI.”