UK Parliament invites public comments on AI matters
The UK Parliament invites comments on questions ranging from the necessity to regulate AI to its impact on cyber security and democracy.
The UK Parliament is growing increasingly interested in the future of artificial intelligence (AI). Earlier this week, the Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence has published its call for evidence, inviting submissions from all interested individuals and organisations. The aim is to consider the economic, ethical and social implications of AI advances.
Lord Clement-Jones, Chairman of the Committee said:
“This inquiry comes at a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly seizing the attention of industry, policymakers and the general public. The Committee wants to use this inquiry to understand what opportunities exist for society in the development and use of artificial intelligence, as well as what risks there might be.”
The questions range from ones concerning the AI impact on everyday life, jobs, education and retraining needs to the necessity of regulation of artificial intelligence.
The deadline for submissions is September 6, 2017.
In February this year, the European Parliament approved a resolution on robotics, which urges the European Commission to draft robotics rules that are set to be applied across the European Union.
A point of disagreement was the part of the document related to the impact of AI on the labour market. Rapporteur Mady Delvaux (S&D, LU) commented: “Although I am pleased that the plenary adopted my report on robotics, I am also disappointed that the right-wing coalition of ALDE, EPP and ECR refused to take account of possible negative consequences on the job market. They rejected an open-minded and forward-looking debate and thus disregarded the concerns of our citizens.”
Various UK institutions are warming up to AI solutions. Recently, the Bank of England announced the results of the third round of Proofs of Concept (POCs) completed by its FinTech Accelerator, with one of the key collaborations being in the area of AI. Accepted propositions from companies in the second cohort of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory sandbox also included a number of AI software solutions.