UK moves forward with AI regulation
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UK moves forward with AI regulation

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Leading tech firms including the likes of Meta, Google and OpenAI will allow regulators to test their latest artificial intelligence (AI) products before releasing them for public use.

The announcement came from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after a two-day AI Summit featuring senior officials from the US and China and Elon Musk.

Speaking to Sunak in a live-streamed interview that was streamed on X, Musk said that AI will render jobs obsolete.

He warned of humanoid robots that “can chase you anywhere”, but that hasn’t stopped him from investing into AI firms.

"We are seeing the most destructive force in history here," Musk said.

"There will come a point where no job is needed - you can have a job if you want one for personal satisfaction but AI will do everything.”

But Sunak believes that vetting AI firms is a key step in gaining more control over the rapidly developing technology.

"I believe the achievements of this summit will tip the balance in favour of humanity," he said at the end of the summit.

US order

The move comes after an executive order from the White House this week which requires tech companies to submit test results for their models to the US government before they go public.

In her speech, Harris called for a broader definition of AI safety to include the "full spectrum" of threats, including bias, discrimination and the spread of disinformation.

The order also seeks to lessen the danger of "deepfakes" - which are AI generated audio and video that can contribute to swaying the thinking of the public.

"When people around the world cannot discern fact from fiction because of a flood of AI-enabled myths and disinformation, I ask, is that not existential for democracy?"

These views have been echoed by Michael Deheneffe, director of marketing and innovation, who argues that accuracy is key as AI continues to grow.

“With the sector growing so fast, we need a reality check on where the industry is today in its AI journey and the main data considerations businesses need to address to be ready for this transformation. AI relies on data to be accurate."

This, he says, means that in order to implement a data-centric culture and achieve the resulting business benefits, all employees need to be educated in the areas that underpin data and its day-to-day business use.

"This includes areas such as data security, and AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. Employees not only need to understand how to use them but also when and where to make use of them.

“Historically it was only IT departments that needed to know these things, but those days are long gone.

"Nowadays, everyone – marketing, sales, finance – needs to know how to embed AI in their day-to-day and use it in useful ways that are also compliant.”

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