February 28, 2024

UK Versus EU: Who Has A Better Policy Approach To AI?

The United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) are taking different approaches to regulating artificial intelligence (AI). In October, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took the opportunity to share his government’s views on AI governance. According to him, the UK will take the risks associated with AI seriously but will not “rush to regulate” the technology. In contrast, the EU has taken steps to regulate AI, most notably with the advancement of its AI Act, a comprehensive regulation that covers various use cases.

Whose approach to AI governance is better? Thus far, it has been the United Kingdom. The UK’s framework is less rigid, allowing for firms to innovate more quickly while also giving the government flexibility to respond to societal risks as they arise.

The EU’s policy in this area is prone to sacrificing innovation for the sake of a hypothetical future.

Currently, the British plan is to regulate AI sector-by-sector, if needed, rather than applying rules to an entire class of technology. In practice, the British government is building its AI vision on a simple concept: “We will not assign rules or risk levels to entire sectors or technologies. Instead, we will regulate based on the outcomes AI is likely to generate in particular applications.” This means enforcing existing laws that may be relevant to AI development and deployment, as needed, in areas like healthcare and law enforcement, along with creating new rules that the government deems necessary.

Read the full article from Tech Policy Press.

  • Podcast
    • July 9, 2024
    Quantum Computing in US-China Competition

    A conversation between Bonnie Glaser and Sam Howell discussing the quantum computing, its applications, and its place in US-China competition.PRINT ARTICLEChina Global Podcast...

    By Sam Howell & Bonnie Glaser

  • Reports
    • June 11, 2024
    Catalyzing Crisis

    Executive Summary The arrival of ChatGPT in November 2022 initiated both great excitement and fear around the world about the potential and risks of artificial intelligence (A...

    By Bill Drexel & Caleb Withers

  • Commentary
    • Just Security
    • June 6, 2024
    Open Source AI: The Overlooked National Security Imperative

    Now a global technological superpower, China does not want to repeat the mistakes of its past and is actively positioning itself to be the world’s AI leader....

    By Keegan McBride

  • Commentary
    • The Washington Post
    • May 30, 2024
    To Win the Chip War, the U.S. Must Prioritize Revolutionary Research

    Taking big bets on moonshot technologies is the only approach that can sustain Moore’s law and guarantee that the United States continues to lead in the technologies of tomorr...

    By Jordan Schneider, Arrian Ebrahimi & Chris Miller

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia