The inauguration of President Trump last month appears to have had a transformative effect on our government.
The new US administration’s robust attitude to AI has found a responsive cord in the hearts and minds of our ministers.
After three months of investigation and taking evidence from experts, the House of Lords produced a report last year recommending safeguards for the development of AI programmes and a bill was proposed before Christmas which would require programmes using LLMs to be submitted to a government body to make sure they were not harmful. It has now been announced that this bill will not be put forward until the summer.
This may not be unconnected with remarks by the US vice president that America would be going full steam ahead with AI development and would not let that progress be impeded by regulation.
Another apparent change of heart is the government’s decision last month to consult on proposed legislation to change copyright law to give AI developers the green light to use UK published content for AI programme training without permission or payment – a move that has outraged the traditionally Labour-inclined creative community.
Datacentres are another area where the government is demonstrating a new-found enthusiasm. A Planning and Infrastructure Bill is set to be introduced this Spring to facilitate and accelerate datacentre installation including on greenfield sites.
Datacentres have been designated critical national infrastructure, which potentially streamlines the approval processes which might have encountered local opposition because of their appetite for electricity while delivering little in the way of job creation.
It’s good that the government has an enthusiasm for technology but that shouldn’t mean simply supporting the agenda of Big Tech