Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Rodda Excerpts
Wednesday 22nd May 2024

(7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call shadow Minister Matt Rodda.

Matt Rodda Portrait Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
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It is good to see the hon. Member for South Thanet back in his place.

Last year, the UK hosted the AI safety summit and set up the AI Safety Institute. However, since then, developers of frontier AI have refused to share information with the Safety Institute, leaving it toothless. Labour has repeatedly called for binding regulation to support safety. With the Secretary of State discussing the future of AI this week, is it not high time for the Government to finally agree to binding regulation?

Saqib Bhatti Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Saqib Bhatti)
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I do not agree with that categorisation. The truth is that the Bletchley summit was a world-leading summit. We took a front-foot approach and we are co-hosting the Seoul summit, which is bringing together AI nations, AI companies and top experts in academia and civil society. We have always been clear that we will ensure that our regulators do the job that they need to do, and of course at some point we will legislate. We have a plan, and our plan is working. The Labour party cannot tell us what it would legislate for. It does not have a plan.