Michael Birtwistle, associate director at the Ada Lovelace Institute, said it risked leaving a “whole range of harms to people and society unaddressed,” which the AISI had previously committed to tackling.
“The most significant and recurring AI scandals relate heavily to bias, from Australian robo-debt, to the Dutch welfare algorithm, to the Ofqual exams algorithm. There is a real risk that inaction on risks like bias will lead to public opinion turning against AI and the U.K. missing out on its benefits.”
The U.K. government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the changes.
Overshadowed
On the morning media round Friday, Kyle got little chance to talk about his department’s announcement. Instead the conversation was dominated by Ukraine’s future and tariffs.
Trump signed a presidential memorandum Thursday moving the U.S. one step closer to a “reciprocal” tariff system. This could see Britain hit with tariffs of up to 21 percent on exports if, as indicated by Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro last night, VAT is considered by the administration as a tax on imports.
Kyle said: “We need a government with cool, clear thinking at times like this… We will assess any changes and challenges that come down the line from any part of the global economy, and we will act appropriately and in the best interest of Britain.”
As POLITICO first reported earlier this month, the thinking inside the U.K. government has changed on how to bring forward new AI legislation. Ministers have dropped language about forcing AI companies to give the AISI pre-release access for testing, which was also the subject of industry resistance.
The last time the country’s Technology Secretary Peter Kyle mentioned it publicly was the morning after Trump was elected.