MPs call for preparations to tackle AI challenges

Policymakers must prepare for the disruption that artificial intelligence will have on jobs, and provide credible protection against any harm it may cause, according to a group of MPs.

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s analysis into the impact AI could have on society and the economy heard that greater automation and the use of AI-powered tools offers significant opportunities, including allowing humans “to be more human”, but could also result in a rise in unemployment.

Its interim report on the governance of artificial intelligence identifies 12 challenges posed by AI that must be addressed, including bias, job displacement and access to data.

The report says that legislation to regulate the use of AI should be put to Parliament during its next session, and warns that delaying this could risk the UK falling behind other jurisdictions, including the EU and the US.

Committee chair Greg Clark said: “AI is full of opportunities, but also contains many important risks to long-established and cherished rights – ranging from personal privacy to national security – that people will expect policymakers to guard against.

“If the government’s ambitions are to be realised and its approach is to go beyond talks, it may well need to move with greater urgency in enacting the legislative powers it says will be needed.

“We will study the government’s response to our interim report, and the AI white paper consultation, with interest, and will publish a final set of policy recommendations in due course.”

Andrew Pakes, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, said the government needed to show leadership in the transition to a digital economy.

“The UK risks missing out on the benefits of cutting-edge technology unless it provides clearer rules to help workers navigate change, including on reskilling and employment protections in a new digital age,” he said.

Unions and businesses also needed to have a voice in the Global AI Safety Summit, taking place at Bletchley Park this November, Parkes said.

Hugh Milward, lead for corporate, external and legal at Microsoft UK, told the committee that AI should be viewed as a “co-pilot, not an autopilot”.

He said: “Its job is to augment the things that human beings are doing, rather than to replace the things that human beings are doing, and to really allow humans to be more human, in some respects.”

Sir Patrick Vallance, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said AI’s impact on jobs could be as big as the industrial revolution was in the 1700-1800s, and said it was important for policymakers to plan ahead.

“Which are the jobs and sectors that will be most affected, and what are the plans to retrain, or give people their time back to do a job differently? There will be jobs that can be done by AI, which can either mean that lots of people do not have a job or that, actually, lots of people have a job that only humans can do,” he told the committee.

Examples of potential bias in AI decision-making heard by the committee included employment tools that associate women’s names with “traditionally female” roles and recognition disparities between ethnic backgrounds by facial recognition tools used in law enforcement.

The use of image and voice recordings could lead to faked content and “highly plausible material being generated which can purport to show an individual saying things that have no basis in fact”, potentially damaging reputations, the report adds.

A separate group of MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee recently warned that there are limited legislative provisions to protect workers against algorithmic decision-making, while research by HR tech firm Asana found that only a quarter of companies have policies or guidance on the use of AI at work.

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