Artificial Intelligence: Regulation

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

Thank you. It is an important area, and one where we have huge opportunities for growth. There is definitely the need for regulators to become upskilled in the ability to look at AI and understand how it impacts their areas. That is the reason we created the Regulatory Innovation Office, announced last week, to make sure that there are the capabilities and expertise in sector-dependent regulators. We also believe that there is a need for regulation for the most advanced models, which are general purpose, and of course cross many different areas as well.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, notwithstanding the need for sector-specific approaches and expertise, does my noble friend agree that public confidence and constitutional legitimacy require primary legislation, and sooner rather than later?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The reason we are establishing the prospect of an AI Act is to look at those models that are the ones that are at the biggest forefront in general use and carry with them specific opportunities and risks that require that specific legislation. It is not the case that that is true for every aspect of the application of AI in every single area, much of which can be covered by existing regulation and can be dealt with by regulators, provided that they are appropriately reinforced with the skills, capabilities and knowledge required.

Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Chakrabarti]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the value of, and the progress towards achieving the aims of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on artificial intelligence and human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, adopted on 17 May.

[The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Lord Vallance of Balham) (Lab)]

Artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly boost economic growth, but to enable this it is essential to build public trust. That is why the UK has, together with international partners, signed the first ever legally binding treaty on AI, which, alongside our existing legal framework, will enhance the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, supporting democratic institutions and ensuring that AI can develop and be used in line with our values.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend, whom I belatedly welcome to the Dispatch Box. It is easily done on all sides of politics, but one minute we berate so-called red tape and the next minute we weep for tragedies like Grenfell. So does my noble friend agree with me that concepts like human rights, democracy and the rule of law are far from red tape? Does he agree that the Council of Europe, which at least one pretender to the Conservative crown wants us to pull out of, will be essential to navigating this very difficult territory in the years to come?

Combating Disinformation: Freedom of Expression

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 13th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, the Question of the noble Lord, Lord Strasburger, requires a little further interrogation, because that report by Big Brother Watch suggested that during the pandemic, politicians, journalists and civil society campaigners from across the political spectrum were personally targeted for critiquing the Government’s handling of the pandemic. Given that report and these legitimate concerns, it would be very kind if the Minister and his colleagues would look into this further and write to the noble Lord, Lord Strasburger, and, indeed, to anyone else affected.

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

Yes, I am very happy to write any such letter. I confirm now in front of the House that the function of the NSOIT, formerly the Counter Disinformation Unit, is to analyse attempts to artificially manipulate the information environment for purposes of national security. It is not its function—and never has been its function, regardless of its name—to go after individuals, whether they are politicians, journalists, or anybody else. It looks for at-scale attempts to manipulate the information environment.

AI: “Nudify” Apps

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 13th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

I absolutely agree, and the instance that the noble Baroness described is deplorable. I am pleased to say two things very briefly. First, the sharing she describes now carries, as a base offence, up to six months in prison; if, as in the case the noble Baroness put forward, the sharing is designed for the purposes of malice or gaining sexual gratification, that sentence goes up to two years. That regime is now live. On elections, we have set up the Defending Democracy Taskforce, with a new unit implemented last year specifically dedicated to safeguarding the election against such threats.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Owen, asked a Question that was forensic, specific, nimble and agile—all adjectives that the Minister keeps using: “Why not ban these nudify apps?”. Why not ban the tools of the wicked trade, rather than waiting for individuals to misuse them? What is the positive use of this? Is it that big tech is now so deep in our politics that we do not dare regulate this technology to make sure that it is not used for ill?

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

The reason the making is not banned is that the sharing is banned, and the reason we did that is that Law Commission—as set out very clearly in its document—made the argument that this was the most appropriate way to have a coherent and effective body of law preventing this deplorable misuse of technologies.

Artificial Intelligence: Regulation

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

I am pleased to say that the Government spend more on AI safety than any other Government of any country. We have assembled the greatest concentration of AI safety expertise anywhere and, based on that input, we feel that nobody has sufficient understanding of the risks or potential of AI at this point to regulate in a way that is not premature. The result of premature regulation is regulation that creates unnecessary friction for businesses, or runs the risk of protecting or failing to protect from emerging dangers of which we are as yet unaware.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, we learned again just this week that our own public sector is already using this very powerful technology across the board in Whitehall on matters such as criminal justice, health and education, with great opportunity but great risk. Where is the statutory framework for that current use of the technology? At a time when so many of the Minister’s colleagues in the Government want to walk away from international agreement, what hope is there for us to deal with technology on a global scale without new agreements, not fewer ones?

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

I certainly do not recognise a situation in which many of my governmental colleagues want to walk away from international regulations; indeed, I have just provided quite a long list of them. It is entirely appropriate that, within the bounds of safety and their remit, different public sector bodies use this crucial new technology. They do so not in an unregulated way but with strict adherence to existing regulations.

Counter Disinformation Unit

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 18th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

I am delighted to reassure the noble Lord that it is subject to parliamentary oversight. The DSIT Secretary of State is accountable to Parliament, and indeed to the relevant parliamentary Select Committee.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as someone who featured in that Big Brother Watch report as a result of Freedom of Information requests. I seem to have been—goodness knows why—a subject of investigation by this unit, despite having played no role in pro-Russian or anti-vaccine activity. I am a little nervous about this. Perhaps I could take up the noble Viscount on his offer, with a group of any others who feel a little uncomfortable about what we are hearing.

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

As I say, the work of the CDU does not target any individual, and specifically it does not refer to any social media company the publications and writings of any Member of Parliament or any journalist. It does not go after political debate in any way. Inevitably, we are blessed in this House to have a number of prominent thinkers and writers, and their thinking and writing would end up in all kinds of departmental media summaries, as you would expect. Any subject access request would necessarily pick those up. That is not to suggest that the noble Baroness or any other Member of this House have been targeted individually by the CDU.