THE Scottish Government has raised concerns over No 10’s “hands-off” approach to Artificial Intelligence, warning that it could have devastating consequences.
Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead told MSPs he was calling for a four-nation summit “on the implications of AI” to be held as soon as possible.
He also said the government had commissioned a review setting out what Scotland needs to do now “to maximise the benefits of AI while we control the risks at the same time.”
READ MORE: Mitigating 'risk of extinction from AI' should be global priority
Earlier this week, more than 350 technology experts, academics and politicians called for governments to do more to mitigate “the risk of extinction” from AI.
The warning was backed by some of the biggest names in the sector, including the chief executive and co-founder of ChatGPT, senior bosses at Google, and Geoffrey Hinton, a man often referred to as the “Godfather of AI”.
Among the more than 350 signatories was former Scottish Labour MP and defence secretary Des Browne, and the University of Edinburgh’s Dr Atoosa Kasirzadeh, a philosopher who specialises in the ethics of AI.
Rishi Sunak has already said he aims to put the UK will be at the forefront of efforts to develop AI responsibly, promising that the technology would be implemented “safely and securely with guard rails”.
However, while the Prime Minister is reportedly concerned about the risks of the technology, he is, at the same time, wary of over-regulating.
According to reports, officials believe the UK could adopt a model of regulation that would be less strict than the approach taken by the EU, while more stringent any framework in the US.
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On Thursday, MSPs debated a Scottish Government motion on “trustworthy, ethical and inclusive Artificial Intelligence.”
Opening, Mr Lochhead said the “rapid progress” in technology and “the prospect of it becoming more and more advanced and powerful, is leading to some hard questions for the world.”
He told MSPs it was important “not to lose perspective.”
“Most experts do not believe AI will be able to supersede human intelligence without several new breakthroughs. And no one knows when that could happen.
“At the moment talk of impending singularity, which means machines thinking for themselves without needing humans, still involves quite a lot of fiction.”
He compared AI to the invention of the steam engine.
Mr Lochhead said that Scotland was “not just suddenly waking up to AI.”
“We start from a solid base to make the right choices and reap the benefits of AI while controlling its risks.”
The minister added: “We have a vision to make Scotland a leader in the development and use of AI in a way that is trustworthy, ethical and inclusive.
“We do therefore need government leadership and regulation to the action is required.“
READ MORE: Analysis: Scottish politicians will soon need to tackle AI
He said most of these levers in terms of regulation were currently controlled by the UK government.
“We are a bit concerned that current UK Government plans for the hands-off non-statutory regulation of AI will not meet Scotland's needs,” he said.
“We don't want to create unnecessary red tape, but we do have a duty to create the right supportive environment for businesses to thrive but also for citizens to be protected.”
Mr Lochhead called for a four-nation summit on the implications of AI to be held as soon as possible.
He also announced an independent review “setting out what Scotland needs to do now, to maximise the benefits of AI while we control the risks at the same time.”
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