Regulating AI: Two Steps Forward For The UK As Pro-Innovation Approach Remains

Following landmark developments in 2023, the international spotlight remains firmly on AI regulation as we enter into 2024. The last few days alone have not only seen the COREPER Ambassador's agreement on the EU AI Act, but also the long-awaited Government response to its AI Regulation White Paper released yesterday ("Response") and the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee report on "Large language models and generative AI" ("Report") published at the end of last week.

There are few surprises in the Response and Report; with the UK still forging its own path towards the regulation of AI – particularly compared to the EU's approach. That said, the Government seems to have taken on board a couple of focus areas from the EU approach (such as in respect of highly capable general purpose AI systems).