Artificial Intelligence: Legislation

Baroness Kidron Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

I think the noble Viscount is very well aware that we have taken a rather different approach, in that we are proposing regulation largely through the existing regulators rather than having everything in one place. We are now looking at an AI Bill that would go across; that is what the consultation will be about.

This is one of those areas where it is crucial to work with colleagues around the world. This is not a domestic but a global issue, and one that has to be dealt with with our colleagues in the US and in the EU. We will look very carefully at some of the features of the EU Act, which, as the noble Viscount rightly said, have been carefully looked at by a number of people, who found some things that I think the EU also wishes to change as it looks at its legislation. This goes back to my earlier answer: if we rush the consultation, we will get this wrong; if we take the time and do it right, we could end up having the best regulation in this area, which will none the less need to change, as this advances very rapidly.

[Baroness Kidron (CB)]

My Lords, both the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the industrial strategy outline a commitment to sovereign AI, including the creation of a UK sovereign AI unit, but with little detail about the timeline or the terms under which it will operate. Meanwhile, the Government continue to sign contracts with global AI firms across multiple government departments without reference to the concerns expressed in both Houses about the need to protect the UK’s valuable datasets. Could the noble Lord reassure the House that the UK’s very valuable public datasets will not be shared with international tech companies before Parliament has the opportunity to understand the terms on which they are being shared? Given that the Government have pushed back the timeline of the promised AI Bill, could he also explain how and when the details of what constitutes UK sovereign AI will be established?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The noble Baroness will be aware that we have allocated up to £2 billion for AI, £500 million of which is on sovereign AI. That unit is just being established now. It will look at the features, which, of course, include data, hardware and software. One thing I can tell her, which I hope she will be pleased with, is that there is a programme on the creative content exchange in the creative industries sector that is specifically designed to look at how data from the creative industries can be pulled together so that it is easy to license it, easy to understand what has happened to it, and, therefore, easier to use it appropriately in an AI setting.