The UK today signed a ground-breaking treaty on AI safety, aimed at protecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law from any threats that might come from the technology.Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood today signed the Council of Europe's convention on AI as part of a united global approach to managing the risks and opportunities.Artificial intelligence has the potential to radically improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of public services and turbocharge economic growth," said Lord Chancellor Mahmood."But we must not allow AI to shape us-we must shape AI. This Convention is a major step to ensuring that these new technologies can be harnessed without eroding ouroldest values, like human rights and the rule of law.
This treaty takes into account the gains AI could bring, such as productivity gains and improvements in health care, while considering major concerns regarding misinformation, algorithmic bias, and data privacy. It will force signing countries to monitor AI development, introduce severe regulations, and fight misuse of the technology if it threatens public services or individuals.
Keiron Holyome, VP UKI & Emerging Markets at BlackBerry said, "If we are to stay ahead of the cybercriminals and keep a defence advantage, then there needs to be the development of robust frameworks around AI governance and ethical standards that ensure responsible use and mitigate risk.".
This is another step toward such recommendations by both AI caution and applications for good-the first-ever legally binding international treaty on AI. This will increasingly require collaboration among government, industry leaders, and academia to share knowledge, develop best practices, and collectively respond to emerging threats.
Importantly, the convention also provides a framework for improving existing legislation in the UK. For example, part of the Online Safety Act will be strengthened in regard to the risk of AI systems utilizing 'biased data' to create outputs that are unfair.
The agreement covers three major safeguards:Protecting human rights: taking care that people's data is dealt with responsibly, their privacy is respected, and AI systems do not discriminate against anyone.
Safeguarding democracy: To make countries take proactive action to prevent AI from being used to undermine public institutions and democratic processes.
Safeguarding the rule of law: To impose obligations on the signatory countries to establish robust AI-specific regulations, protect citizens from potential harm, and deploy AI responsibly.Whereas the convention at the outset takes in members from the Council of Europe, other countries, including the US and Australia, will be invited to join this international effort with a view to responsible AI development and deployment.
Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: "AI has the potential to drive a new economic growth, a productivity revolution, and true transformation of our public services, but that ambition can only be achieved if people have faith and trust in the innovations which will bring about that change.".The Convention we signed today with global partners will be crucial to that effort.
Once in force, it further enhances protections for human rights, the rule of law, and democracy while strengthening our own domestic approach toward the technology and furthering the global cause of safe, secure, and responsible AI.
It added that the UK Government remains committed to working closely with domestic regulators, devolved administrations, and local authorities to ensure that any requirements flowing from the treaty, once ratified, are implemented smoothly.
Signing the convention follows earlier responsible AI work by the UK, hosting the AI Safety Summit and co-hosting the AI Seoul Summit, as well as establishing the world's first AI Safety Institute.
