Gambling Act Review White Paper

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The precise design of the levy will be decided by consultation, following which we will introduce the levy by secondary legislation, affording an opportunity for debate in your Lordships’ House and in another place. The Act is clear that all spending on the levy must be approved by DCMS and His Majesty’s Treasury. We do not direct the Gambling Commission on its regulation of gambling more widely—it is an independent regulator—but we work closely together on matters pertaining to this review, and DCMS Ministers will continue to be involved as financial risk checks are developed.

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as an adviser to Betway, as declared in the register. I join in welcoming the White Paper. At a time when over 22 million people enjoy a bet each month and when problem gambling has fallen to 0.2% from 0.3% the previous year, can the Minister elaborate on the measures being taken to promote a level playing field for the betting and gambling industry? More specifically, what measures are being taken to reduce the unregulated black market, where there are no protections for young children, no affordability checks, no ombudsman and no tax levied?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Lord is right and, as my right honourable friend the Secretary of State set out in her Statement in another place, we are conscious that this is something that millions of people do for enjoyment with their own money and without harm. We are also conscious of the significant changes to gambling since Parliament last legislated on this matter in a substantial way through the 2005 Act. That is why we held the consultation, have taken action and are carrying on with that work in the meantime. The noble Lord is also right to point to the dangers of the black market. We are very mindful of where people will turn if we do not get this right.

AI in the UK (Liaison Committee Report)

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, I join in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, on his able chairmanship of the Liaison Committee report as well as the report that he chaired so ably in 2017. I was fortunate to be a member of that committee, and it was a steep learning curve. The noble Lord has comprehensively covered the key areas of the development of data trusts, the legal and ethical framework and the challenges of ensuring public trust. I had planned on speaking to the threat of bias in machine learning and the threats in some rather unfortunate circumstances, but that has been ably covered by the noble Lord, Lord Holmes of Richmond, so I can delete that from my speech and speak for two minutes less.

In welcoming the national AI strategy published in September last year, I shall focus my remarks on what needs to be achieved to retain—and I stress the word “retain”—the UK’s position as a world leader in AI and, in the words of Dame Wendy Hall, to remain an AI and science superpower fit for the next decade. I am cognisant of the three pillars of the national AI strategy being investing in the long-term needs of the AI ecosystem, ensuring that AI benefits all regions and sectors, and, of course, the governance issues, which I shall not address in my short speech today.

AI has already played, and continues to play, a major role in transforming many sectors, from healthcare to financial services, autonomous vehicles, defence and security—I could not possibly speak with the able knowledge of the noble Lord, Lord Browne—as well as climate change forecasting, to name but a few. Fintech has played, and continues to play, a major role in embracing AI to tackle some of the challenges in financial exclusion and inclusion, a subject ably covered in the previous debate. The healthcare sector also provides some of the most compelling and demonstrable proof that data science and AI can generate with advances in robotic surgery, automated medical advice and medical imaging diagnostics. Autonomous vehicles are soon going to be deployed on our roads, and we will need to ensure that they are safe and trusted by members of the public. Moreover, the Royal Mail is planning to deploy 500 drones to carry parcels to remote locations.

Are we building AI to the right applications? It is difficult to apply standards for AI when it is constantly evolving. AI can be equipped to learn from data that is generated by humans, systems and the environment. Can we ensure that AI remains safe and trusted as it evolves its functionality? To build AI that we can export as part of our products and services, it will need to be useful to and trusted by those countries where we seek to sell those products and services. Such trustworthiness can be achieved only through collaboration on standards, research and regulation. It is crucial to engage with industry, universities and public sectors not just within the UK but across the globe. Can the Minister elaborate on what the UK Government are doing to boost strategic operation with international partnerships?

I join in applauding the work of UKRI as well as the Alan Turing Institute, which has attracted and retained exceptional researchers, but a lot more investment is needed to retain and expand human resource expertise and further implement the AI strategy. It was conceived during the pandemic, but new threats and opportunities will invariably arise unexpectedly: wars, financial crises, climate disasters and pandemics can rapidly change Governments’ priorities. Can the Minister clarify how it will be ensured that the AI strategy remains relevant in times of change and a high priority?

The noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, spoke about how the UK and various businesses are embracing AI, and I shall talk briefly about the AI SME ecosystem. Our report in 2017 recommended that the Government create an AI growth fund for UK SMEs to help them to scale up. Can the Minister elaborate on what measures are being taken to accelerate and support AI SMEs, particularly on the global stage?

I share the sentiments of the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, that the pace, scale and ambition of the Government do not match the challenge of many people working in the UK. I hope there will be more funding and focus on promoting AI apprenticeships, with digital upskilling as well as digital skills partnerships. For the AI strategy to succeed, we need a combination of competent people and technology. We are all aware of the concerns about a massive skills shortage, particularly with data scientists. We have been hearing about the forthcoming government White Paper on common standards and governance, although it is difficult to apply standards for AI when it is constantly evolving.

In conclusion, while we have seen huge strides and advances in AI in the UK, we need to ensure that we do not take our foot off the pedal. How do we differentiate UK AI from international AI in terms of efficiency, resilience and relevance? How can we improve public sector efficiencies by embracing AI? China and the United States will invariably lead the way with their huge budgets and established ecosystems. There is no need for complacency.

Freedom of Speech

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury for initiating this debate, which is timely, this being international Human Rights Day. Coming last to the crease before the wind-up speeches, and after so many excellent speeches, I will not detain your Lordships for the full seven minutes.

There is no doubt that we live in an era wrought with cultural and political hostility, driven largely by the increasing open public discourse on social media sites. I entirely agree with my noble friend Lady D’Souza that freedom of speech has often been hijacked by social media platforms. While freedom of speech should be protected, recent examples have shown us that false information, often pedalled by digital companies, has allowed their platforms to affect real political outcomes and frame important narratives. The challenge is how to strike a balance.

One of my concerns is that social media sites have free reign to censor and moderate content as they please, often doing so unevenly and unfairly, posing a threat to freedom of speech. Facebook’s content moderation and hate speech rules, which tend to favour elites and Governments over grassroots activities and racial minorities, are a case in point. I welcome their recent efforts to tackle these issues. However, not enough has been done.

By controlling what people can and cannot see, effectively acting as publishers rather than platforms, these social media sites have effectively gained control over the dissemination of information online. Bearing in mind that many people, particularly the youth, read their news on social media, it poses the question of whether self-regulation is more stringent or more rigid regulation is needed. In many ways, it is hard not to admire the innovation and creative genius behind much of what has emerged from Silicon Valley, but one cannot doubt that the age of social media has been just as corrosive as it has been productive. As we move from the universe to the metaverse, these issues will only be exacerbated if they are not tackled now. The algorithms of platforms such as Twitter are undoubtedly designed by data scientists who may have a particular political or social agenda and great power to influence others.

I fear that some of the academic institutions in this country have been overtly censorious in nature. I refer to Amber Rudd being banned from speaking at the Oxford Union. For those who called for her to be de-platformed, my response is that they should not have banned her but challenged her and engaged her in debate. If we remain divided, and some individuals continue to feel silenced, we face the increased risk of political extremism and populist backlashes. The question is how we uphold freedom of speech that balances liberty with the protection of those who need protecting.

Institutions such as the Free Speech Union are gaining traction, stepping in to protect those who cannot, as they call it, be cancelled for controversial things that they say or do. A balance needs to be struck between regulating harmful content online, such as child pornography and hate speech, and protecting real and legitimate speech to preserve the forum as the modern marketplace of ideas. Certainly, the Covid pandemic has illustrated the far-reaching powers that social media companies have in controlling a narrative and vital information online. In summary, my call is for a level playing field where social media enterprises are held to account and where ideas, grievances and beliefs can be aired in public and be rejected, endured or challenged.

Events Research Programme

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. One of the things that we are seeking to understand better in the third phase of the events research pilots will be the use of testing and certification and how that may or may not be applied in future, although I stress that no decision has been taken on that.

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, given the importance of the wedding industry in this country, which employs 400,000 people and accounting for £15 billion in annual revenue, why did the Government not see it necessary to have a wedding-specific ERP? Can the Minister give an assurance that the Government will embrace the wedding industry’s offer to use its unique experience and expertise in providing a reliable database of evidence that shows that it operates in a Covid-safe environment?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The events that were chosen for the events research programme were very carefully selected based on scientific advice for the data and the insights that they can provide. As the noble Lord is aware, we are limited in the number of events that can be included in the programme, but all learning will be shared with the all-important wedding sector, as he suggests.

English Football: Project Big Picture

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Government absolutely recognise the financial pressure that the decision to delay the reopening of football has placed on lower-league clubs. The English Football League has reassured my right honourable friend the Secretary of State that no club will go bust, and we look forward to seeing the Premier League and the English Football League come up with a solution.

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

Would the Minister agree that, with the major financial challenges facing many teams as a result of the Covid restrictions and the need to fund grass-roots football, the game clearly needs restructuring from top to bottom? But this should not be driven by foreign owners who march to the drum of private equity and profit. Leadership should come from the Premier League itself, which has the national game at heart. Who is going to be that leader?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord asks a very good question. As I am sure he knows, the structure of the Premier League requires a two-thirds majority for any decision. We have been clear about the importance of the fan-led review of the governance and structural issues that football faces, and we have provided reassurance recently to the national league that support from the Government will be forthcoming.

Algorithms: Public Sector Decision-making

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for introducing this topical and very important debate, and I am delighted that we have been given six minutes rather than the previously allotted three.

As the Science and Technology Committee in the other place reported in Algorithms in Decision-making, algorithms have been used for many years to aid decision-making, but the recent huge growth of big data and machine learning has substantially increased decision-making in a number of sectors, not just in the public sector but in finance, the legal system, the criminal justice system, the education system and healthcare. I shall not give examples because of the lack of time.

As every speaker has mentioned, the use of these technologies has proven controversial on grounds of bias, largely because of the algorithm developers’ selection of datasets. The question and challenge is how to recognise bias and neutralise it. In deciding upon the relevance of algorithmic output to a decision by a public sector body, the decision-maker should have the discretion to assess unthought of relevant factors and whether the decision is one for which the algorithm was designed. Clearly there is a need for a defined code of standards for public sector algorithmic decision-making. In this regard, I refer to the recommendations of NESTA, which was mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. It recommended that every algorithm used by a public sector organisation should be accompanied by a description of its function, objectives and intended impact. If we are to ask public sector staff to use algorithms responsibly to complement or replace some aspects of their decision-making, it is vital that they have a clear understanding of what they are intended to do and in what context they might be applied.

Given the rising use of algorithms by the public sector, only a small number can be reasonably audited. In this regard, there is a recommendation that every algorithm should have an identical sand-box version for auditors to test the impact of different input conditions. As almost all noble Lords have mentioned, there is a need for more transparency about what data was used to train an algorithm, identifying whether there is discrimination on a person’s ethnicity, religion or other factors, a point most poignantly made by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor. By way of example, if someone is denied council housing or a prisoner is denied probation, they need to know whether an algorithm was involved in that decision. If it is proven that an individual was negatively impacted by a mistaken decision made by an algorithm, a recommendation has been made by NESTA that an insurance scheme should be established by public sector bodies to ensure that citizens can receive appropriate compensation.

I shall keep it brief. In conclusion, I do not want to give the impression that I am opposed to the use of algorithms in the decision-making processes of the public sector. The report on AI by our Select Committee, which was so ably chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones—I was lucky enough to be a member—highlighted the huge benefits that artificial intelligence can provide to the public and private sectors. Can the Minister elaborate on the Government’s adoption strategy? With the vast majority of investments in AI coming from the United States as well as from Japan, I believe the UK should focus its efforts to lead the way in developing ethical and responsible AI.