Is the UK getting an AI bill?

Yesterday’s King’s Speech confirmed that the new Labour government “will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”, but stopped short of explicitly announcing the introduction of an AI bill.

The King’s Speech: what was in and what was missing

The King’s Speech, which sets out the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session, had been expected to include an AI bill following the Labour party’s election manifesto pledges to create binding regulation on AI. 

The manifesto commitment to impose new rules on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models was referenced (although, this had already been suggested by the previous government - see below). However, other manifesto pledges were not referenced. These included commitments to ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes and establish a new Regulatory Innovation Office. There was also no firm commitment to publish an imminent AI bill. 

As noted in our previous blog, during the election campaign there was some discussion around whether Labour's plans to update employment laws could look into the impact of AI on workers. Its “Plan to make work pay” says that it will “examine what AI and new technologies mean for work, jobs and skills, and how to promote best practice in safeguarding against the invasion of privacy through surveillance technology, spyware and discriminatory algorithmic decision making". In the King’s Speech, AI and employment rights were mentioned in the same paragraph, possibly suggesting that addressing the impact of AI on workers is indeed on the government’s agenda, but no details were provided.

The UK’s former approach to AI regulation

Under former prime minister Rishi Sunak, the Conservative government decided against introducing general AI focussed legislation. As mentioned, in the government’s response to the consultation on its AI white paper, it did confirm that there were plans to introduce some targeted binding requirements on those developing highly capable GPAI systems. Other than this it suggested that “introducing binding measures too soon, even if highly targeted, could fail to effectively address risks, quickly become out of date, or stifle innovation and prevent people from across the UK from benefiting from AI”. Instead, Sunak’s government relied on voluntary agreements with leading AI companies and a sector specific approach to regulation that asked UK regulators to interpret and apply five non-statutory AI principles within their remits (see our blog for further details).

The EU approach to AI regulation

This reluctance to specifically regulate AI in the UK was in stark contrast to the approach taken in the EU, where AI focussed regulation has been in the works for a number of years. The EU’s AI Act, cited by the European Commission as the “world’s first comprehensive AI law”, will come into force on 1 August 2024 and will lay down a uniform legal framework for the development, marketing and use of AI across the EU. For more information on the EU AI Act, see our blog and article.

Other aspects of the King's Speech

Finally, it is worth noting that while imminent plans for an AI bill may have been absent from the King’s Speech, that’s not to say that tech and digital matters were missed completely. There was, for example, a proposal for a Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and a Product Safety and Metrology Bill in the King’s Speech background briefing note. The latter will be designed to ensure that the UK is better placed to address modern day safety issues with product regulation, which includes responding to new risks and opportunities created by technological advances such as AI.