The UK and the US established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on AI security.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and UK Tech Minister Michelle Donelan shook on the bilateral settlement, with Minister Donelan describing AI as “the defining expertise problem of our era.”
The partnership builds on the commitments made through the AI Security Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023.
This groundbreaking summit convened main figures within the AI trade and political representatives from a number of nations, together with a uncommon collaboration between the US and China.
The summit additionally led to the creation of “AI Security Institutes” within the UK and the US devoted to evaluating open- and closed-source AI techniques.
Secretary Raimondo spoke of the settlement, “It would speed up each of our Institutes’ work throughout the total spectrum of dangers, whether or not to our nationwide safety or to our broader society.”
Raimondo continued, “Our partnership makes clear that we aren’t operating away from these issues – we’re operating at them.”
With this new settlement, UK and US researchers will run joint security evaluations, conduct joint testing workouts, “pink teaming,” and share experience.
Donselan was hopeful about making a protected path ahead for AI, stating, “Solely by working collectively can we deal with the expertise’s dangers head on and harness its huge potential to assist us all stay simpler and more healthy lives, emphasizing the worldwide affect of the viewers’s function in AI security.”
AI trade regulation has turn out to be stitched collectively by a patchwork of voluntary agreements and frameworks.
For example, final yr, the Biden administration expanded its voluntary security framework to tech firms resembling Adobe, IBM, Nvidia, and Salesforce, which joined present individuals like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Such voluntary commitments are stacking up, however many are doubtful of their efficacy. Discuss is affordable, and the tech trade hasn’t been historically profitable in self-regulating.
The UK nonetheless largely lacks AI regulation
This bilateral settlement might be vital for the UK, which lacks nearly any type of AI regulation within the absence of the European Union’s AI Act.
The AI Act, which begins its phased rollout this yr, mandates transparency and threat evaluation for AI techniques. The UK doesn’t robotically choose into EU rules post-Brexit and has been sluggish in establishing its personal guidelines.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished to advertise a “pro-innovation” framework within the UK, hinting at a deregulated atmosphere.
This US-UK settlement differentiates the UK from the EU’s regulatory atmosphere. Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had beforehand mentioned constructing a US-inspired tech trade – a British equal of Silicon Valley.
Nonetheless, so far, the UK has didn’t create a generative AI startup similar to any within the US, nor France’s Mistral, or Germany’s Aleph Alpha.
