Asked by: Lord Sarfraz (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regional economic impact of generative artificial intelligence, particularly outside London and the South East.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the transformative economic potential of generative AI in the UK. While London and the South-East currently generate around 86% of UK AI Revenue, other regions, such as Manchester, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, are emerging as key innovation hubs. This includes £750 million of investment recently announced for the building of a new AI supercomputer, hosted at the University of Edinburgh.
Additionally, as HMG’s AIRR+ compute network can be accessed remotely, researchers across the country are now able to make use of the UK’s world-class sovereign compute, in order to train new cutting-edge AI models.
The North and South-West have the highest levels of business AI adoption outside of the greater South-East, suggesting industry in UK is harnessing the benefits of AI technology into their business practices.
Asked by: Lord Sarfraz (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) physical, and (2) cyber, threats to cable landing stations in the UK; and what measures they are taking to ensure the resilience of those stations against potential disruption.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Cable landing stations are a critical part of the UK’s digital infrastructure, and the Government takes their security seriously. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) works closely with the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to identify and assess physical and cyber security risks to telecoms infrastructure, including cable landing stations. These assessments inform DSIT and wider Government policy, legislation and engagement with the sector.
Asked by: Lord Sarfraz (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the policy implications of using copyrighted content as artificial intelligence training data.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is carefully considering issues relating to copyright and AI, including the implications of using copyrighted content as AI training data.
The Government has launched a consultation on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues. This will seek views and evidence of potential policy implications for the creative and AI sectors.
Asked by: Lord Sarfraz (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of copyright protection for works of art generated using artificial intelligence.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is carefully considering issues relating to copyright and AI, such as copyright protection for AI-generated works of art.
The Government has launched a consultation on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues. This will include seeking views on protection for the outputs of generative AI.