King's Speech makes reference to government plans to establish 'appropriate legislation'
On 17 July 2024, King Charles III read the King's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, outlining the Labour government's legislative programme for the coming year. The speech encompassed a package of around 40 proposed bills. But much has been left unsaid as to exactly how it plans to regulate artificial intelligence (if indeed at all).
The previous UK government took a relatively "hands off" approach in terms of regulating AI, especially in comparison with the landmark EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act).
The new government looks set to take a different approach – it intends to "establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models".
Osborne Clarke comment
Given the regulatory trend across the globe, it feels inevitable that the UK will move to regulate AI in some way (as was highlighted during the election campaign by Labour).
It is worth noting that the government will "seek to establish" laws around AI. That suggests a period of consultation which could protract timings for introduction of new legislation (if any), given the inherent complexities around regulating AI (including some thorny intellectual property questions).
While there is now a marked change of direction by the new government, it remains to be seen whether the UK can enact a coherent and practical piece of law that recognises the rapid advancements in the technology, responds to growing concerns regarding AI safety, and sensibly applies to a technology used in thousands of systems across completely different applications.
Any legislation would also need to carefully balance legitimate concerns around AI while not stifling innovation or disrupting the UK's current prominence in the AI space.
While we await flesh on the bones around the UK position, the EU AI Act is now law with the countdown starting for compliance. While the principles behind the EU's AI Act are laudable, there are many elements of the regulation that pose more questions than they resolve.
The divergence in approach could add weight to the argument that the EU AI Act will become the "gold standard" and become the one which businesses – which rightly are calling for certainty in this space – start to gear their compliance regimes towards.
Polly Hatcher, Trainee Solicitor, assisted in producing this Insight.
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