AI Regulation In 2025

What is the UK's current position on AI regulation?

Almost a year ago, in February 2024, the previous Conservative government published its written response to the feedback it received as part of its consultation on its March 2023 White Paper on the approach to regulating AI. This response reiterated that the UK would not pursue specific legislative change to respond to the explosion in AI innovation, preferring a principles-based approach based around an over-arching framework of five cross-sectoral principles for "trustworthy AI". Key regulators were asked to publish their individual strategic approaches to managing the risks presented by AI by 30 April 2024. We considered the financial regulators' responses in our previous Emerging Themes article AI in Principle, but, in short, they concurred with the government's approach, concluding that compliance with the AI principles could be met within the myriad of existing financial services legislation and regulation