AI: International Co-operation
Debate between Baroness Lloyd of Effra and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe(1 week, 2 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
We are indeed co-operating with many like-minded allies and countries —for example, the G7 and the OECD, to which the noble Lord referred—on taking forward the AI principles. Those agreed standards are vital for the governance and the effective adoption of AI in all countries. As I mentioned in reference to the question from the noble Earl, we are not a member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. I did review its membership before answering this Question, so I am aware of that. This is a global technology; it is providing opportunities and threats globally. It is very important that, in respect of the UK, we provide advice to our companies and the public sector, so that we can be prepared both for the risks and the opportunities.
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)
My Lords, I hope we will raise our sights above some of our traditional disputes. The threat we face is a worldwide one, as is recognised with what happened with the attack on Hugging Face by OpenAI. This is truly a threat to the whole world, regardless of where we come from politically, and we must therefore look to get the maximum co-operation, on a worldwide basis, that we can secure. Could we, as a starter, start to write out what principles and what guidance we should seek to put into AI that should be minimum standards for a world application?
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
As I mentioned, the Government co-operate with others in numerous multilateral forums. We have taken forward the OECD principles in many of these and they include some of aspects to which my noble friend referred. We will continue to talk to allies about all these aspects. On risks, it is important to emphasise that we are both providing advice to companies on what measures they can take to improve their resilience and taking new powers, through the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, to protect our essential services from attacks, wherever they emanate from.
Artificial Intelligence: Global Governance
Debate between Baroness Lloyd of Effra and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe(1 month, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
The right reverend Prelate is right to highlight the importance of applying our values and laws, whether the content is generated by AI or by other actors. In the UK, the Online Safety Act takes that approach, whether content is developed by AI or elsewhere. It is through these kinds of dialogues, including with the UN, that we will share our best practice, so we can have standards globally that are based on the approach we are taking here in the UK.
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)
My Lords, is it not a fact that, if we are to secure international agreements, we are dependent on the Chinese being willing to enter into them, and in particular our close friends the Americans, who are showing a preference not for international regulation but to lead the world, have competitiveness and be in charge? In those circumstances, I welcome what the Minister was saying about UK sovereignty. Could she define it a bit more precisely? Are we going to establish an independent sovereign UK AI which would give us greater power than we have at the moment?
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
Our sovereignty strategy includes many elements, such as developing AI growth zones, supporting the expansion of compute, and the sovereign AI fund, which is focused on five priority areas. We are supporting the building of a series of non-language frontier models, for example Ineffable. Also, as language models develop, we are seeing how the next era of them could be different. Today, there was an announcement of a further investment in that area from UKRI.
Artificial Intelligence: National Security Implications
Debate between Baroness Lloyd of Effra and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
The noble Lord is spot on to highlight this point. On the approach that the sovereign AI fund is taking, it is investing. We are also providing access to compute, and we are able to support visas. The Global Talent Taskforce is looking to support researchers and expert scientists from around the world to bring them to the UK.
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)
Is my noble friend the Minister aware of the growing desire for the UK to have an independent sovereign entity in this field? That is going to cost a great deal of money, of course. First, can she copy the letter that she is sending to the noble Lord on the Cross Benches to the whole House? Secondly, can she please update us on the questions we keep asking about the possibility of developing a new public/private partnership to fund such a venture?
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
I am very happy to make the letter regarding the suggestion from the Turing Institute and the noble Lord, Lord Tarassenko, available to all in the House. Our view is that the best way for the UK to build up strength, and hence sovereign strength, is not just about controlling AI models. It is about having leverage over key parts of the value chain by bringing those technologies here, supporting UK expertise and supporting people to come to the UK to build companies here, to stay and to scale. That is the approach we will take.
Technology Adoption Review
Debate between Baroness Lloyd of Effra and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
Learning from best practice is a critical part of our approach, as is taking test and learn pilots out so that we can see what works on the ground, particularly in collaboration with local government, businesses and civil society. It is an approach that we take across many different parts of the public sector, and I will make sure that we look at that example in particular.
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)
My Lords, the report is critical of skills shortages, problems with regulations and the financial constraints on investments. I know that it is not directly the Minister’s responsibility, but could she talk to the Treasury about looking for alternative systems of raising funds, and involving the public and extending public/private partnerships, so that we can get some initiative and money going in, in addition to the money that will be invested that she already mentioned?
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
In many areas—in fact, the entire industrial strategy and particularly the Technology Adoption Review—that has been done in concert with the private sector. It is an incredibly important part of the approach. To take one example, the skills package in construction takes that approach forward; both the private and public sectors are putting themselves forward together to provide more opportunities for young people. That is the approach that we will take across digital and AI skills, as I mentioned.