Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what safeguards have been considered in relation to Meta support for building AI systems for UK national security.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not use services from Meta to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for United Kingdom (UK) national security purposes.

Broader policy on the governance, assurance and oversight of the UK’s relationships with commercial AI developers, including any safeguarding expectations, sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which leads for Government on the regulation and safe development of AI technologies.

The MOD’s role is limited to ensuring that any AI technologies we adopt or develop follow our established Defence AI Strategy, our ethical principles for responsible AI in Defence as set out in our ‘Ambitious, Safe, Responsible’ policy document, and the security requirements set out in UK Government security classifications. These include robust technical; security and assurance measures appropriate to the sensitivity of MOD systems.

We continue to work closely with DSIT, the National Cyber Security Centre and other cross-Government partners to ensure any Defence use of AI is safe, secure and compliant with national policy.