London—In response to the National AI Strategy released today by the UK Government, Benjamin Mueller, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, issued the following statement:
The United Kingdom’s National AI Strategy is a sophisticated agenda to encourage investment and innovation in artificial intelligence. It is heartening to see the government balancing the need to promote and fund AI development with a sensible program for innovation-friendly governance and education. This will strengthen the UK’s position as one of the leading technology powers in the world—and offers a welcome alternative to the EU’s strict regulatory approach.
The government recognizes the enormous opportunities that AI offers. The strategy contains a mixture of concrete policies and longer-term ambitions: attracting global AI talent with a new visa regime, providing funds for digital skills and AI research, drafting targeted regulations to promote innovation, exploring the possibility of a national research cloud, and spurring on the creation of international AI governance standards.
The government is right to embrace a wide range of detailed policy initiatives that will further cement the country as a global powerhouse for technology research and innovation. AI developers and entrepreneurs will be pleased to see that instead of the restrictive and heavy-handed approach taken by the European Union, the UK is helping to unleash AI’s economic and technological potential in the years and decades ahead.
