The United Kingdom government is allocating over £100 million for research, development, and regulation in the field of artificial intelligence, marking its first official response to the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence issued in March 2023.
In contrast to the comprehensive AI law in the European Union, the UK's announcement further supports the White Paper's "innovation-friendly" approach.
With the aim of establishing rules that can be "more flexible" than those of competing countries, the government reiterated that it "will not rush into legislation" but will instead maintain an approach based on context to enable regulatory bodies to address potential risks.
For this reason, the UK pledges £10 million to prepare regulatory bodies and hone their skills in assessing opportunities and risks associated with technology.
Key regulatory bodies, including Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, will be required to publish their individual approaches by April 30.
In a clear indication of the government's focus on supporting local AI rather than setting rules, the majority of the funding will go towards research and development.
Specifically, £90 million will support the launch of nine research hubs across the country to maximize the benefits of technology and ensure the responsible deployment of AI.
An additional £2 million provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will focus on "what responsible AI looks like" in sectors such as education and creative industries.
About £19 million will be allocated to 21 projects aimed at accelerating the deployment of AI and machine learning solutions.
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