New UK AI Laws Could Be Passed Sooner Than Expected

The UK is closing in on new AI laws, which could be passed ‘sooner than expected’ according to Lord Chris Holmes.

The new legislation is set to limit the production of large language models such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, requiring developers of advanced AI models to share their algorithms with the government and demonstrate proof that they have been safety tested.

The House of Lords will hear the third reading of the AI bill on Friday, ahead of it moving on to the House of Commons.

Holmes, who introduced the bill to Parliament last November, said: “There have been both interesting and positive noises from Number 10 but also a development and more positive signs coming out of Labour as well in terms of their intentions for legislating for AI.”

Holmes indicated that a version of the legislation could be passed as early as this summer.

Sachin Agrawal, UK Managing Director at Zoho, commented: “It is encouraging to see the UK edging closer towards AI laws to support its safe development. AI already plays a central role in many businesses, enhancing areas such as data analysis, forecasting and customer experience, and the scope of AI will only continue to grow, so it’s important that government, regulators and educators step in to guide AI safely.”

“To truly maximise the development and adoption of AI tools, the UK needs guardrails to guide businesses and their staff to ensure use cases are governed by trust and safety. Safeguards to protect training data, as an example, can help mitigate AI risks and allow businesses to confidently adopt AI solutions, all with the aim of promoting business growth.”

The news comes ahead of the world’s second AI safety summit in Seoul on May 21^st and 22^nd, co-hosted by South Korea and the UK.

Since the inaugural AI safety summit in November, hosted at Bletchley Park, there has been limited AI activity from the UK, with few government announcements outside of a £100 million investment to the Alan Turing Institute in the background of the Spring Budget and a recent MoU with the US around AI regulation.