The United Kingdom’s Role In The Future Of AI
TIM CLEMENT-JONES
Source: COGNITIVE WORLD on FORBES
The UK has played an important role in the history and development of AI. Alan Turing, a British mathematician, is considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and has deep roots in AI as well. In addition to crafting the foundations for modern computing, Turing envisioned the Turing test, which aims to determine a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.
While the UK was heavily involved in AI development from the very first years, the UK also helped bring about the first AI Winter in the industry as well. The Lighthill report cast a deep shadow on AI’s promises and caused a sharp pullback in funding from the government, research institutions, and universities. The report represented a pessimistic view of AI and was highly critical of many core aspects of research in this field.
However, with the resurgence of interest and investment in AI, the UK has likewise been making heavy investments in AI, and as a result, continues to show its strength in the field. In a recent report by research firm Cognilytica, the United Kingdom has one of the strongest AI strategies in the world with strong government funding for AI, strong research activity in the field, strong VC funding and AI startups, and strong enterprise activity and adoption of AI. (Disclosure: I’m a principal analyst at Cognilytica). So where is the UK heading with regards to its overall investment and support of AI?
Parliament's Role in AI
The AI Today podcast interviewed Lord Tim Clement-Jones, Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence and former chair of the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Select Committee. In 2017 the UK established an All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence to address ethical issues, industrial norms, regulatory options and social impact for AI in Parliament. Despite AI’s history with periods of little interest and funding, the times have changed. According to Lord Clement-Jones, he believes that AI is finally here to stay, which is why he set out to learn more about the future of AI with some of his peers. In doing this, he has ended up as a bit of an expert on the topic and is now publicly speaking about what AI could mean for all of us.
Artificial intelligence is changing fast, and with it, we must consider what might be coming from the future of the use of this technology. Despite the fact that many people assume Silicon Valley is where the majority of development is being carried out, the reality is that AI is being developed all around the globe. In Cognilytica’s above-mentioned report the countries leading the way include the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Israel, with China, South Korea, Germany, and many other countries very close behind according to a range of facts. AI is being pursued by both governments and businesses alike, which means that there is some serious potential for unexpected breakthroughs but also makes it nearly impossible to know what it might look like in the future.
Lord Tim Clement-Jones thinks that AI has the power to do some amazing things with the broad spectrum that it covers and the fact that it can be applied to many aspects of life as well as just about every single industry. However just exactly how it can and will be applied also makes it a bit difficult to regulate. He is relatively concerned with the ethics of this technology and how we can best go about creating and using AI ethically. The UK has designated itself as a hopeful leader in ethical AI development, but the concept of ethical and responsible AI is still new and relatively nascent. Lord Tim Clement-Jones stresses this is an area that we will need some sort of global agreement in the long run.
International adoption of AI standards and ethics
Lord Tim Clement-Jones thinks a set of criteria that researchers, developers, and those building AI should agree to follow in order to find an ethical way to continue designing AI is incredibly important. Trying to implement specific ideas can help developers to create AI that is more helpful than harmful. He focuses on the idea that AI should be beneficial, transparent, unbiased, and not destructive. He believes that if we hold true to these ideals in design, we can create AI that is useful for society but does not put anyone at risk of a disadvantage.
One thing that he is particularly worried about is this notion that if people become fearful of the technology, they will ultimately stifle innovation. It is his hope that by placing an emphasis on creating ethically designed AI systems, people will feel more comfortable with it being used. In fact, some organizations such as the OECD have created a set of AI principles that were adopted by member countries including the UK to help create international guidelines for all to follow.
Some people are concerned that AI will be taking their jobs. What we’ve seen is that AI is not a job killer, but a job category killer. Lord Tim Clement-Jones believes that if we can focus on how AI can help citizens and help society there should be no real reason to fear this technology. A big point of concern with AI technology is this notion that artificial intelligence will replace the need for humans. Lord Tim Clement-Jones believes that this will only be a concern if companies put a focus on productivity over actual business transformation. There are plenty of jobs and tasks that AI can take over, particularly ones focused around busy work.
However, that does not mean that there will necessarily be fewer jobs overall. He believes that the industry will create new and different jobs and that the world will rise to meet the occasion. In fact, we’ve seen this happen with other transformative technologies as well. If anything, his big area of concern is the potential impact that it might have with on-the-job training and learning. While it is true that technology can make some jobs and tasks more efficient, it can also cut into training time from employees who used to spend that time connecting and learning from their more educated peers. For example, technology and AI are helping law firms by taking on certain tasks, however, not having junior lawyers performing these tasks takes away opportunities for them to learn. However, if we can meet the training and on-the-job learning needs through other means, this should not need to be a huge problem.
Another area of potential concern that would arise is the potential for negative outcomes due to dependencies on AI technologies. He points out that airplane pilots are now less than pleased with the fact that the cockpit is mostly an automated experience, meaning they don’t necessarily spend much time using their skills in flight. Because of that, it has the potential to create a knowledge gap or even just allow educated individuals to get rusty. When you consider the fact that these employees only need their skills in the event that something goes wrong, it is easy to see how a frightening scenario might play out. If a person who is skilled does not regularly use and exercise those skills until the worst possible moment when they suddenly become necessary, it is possible for there to be rather disastrous outcomes.
As a whole though, Lord Tim Clement-Jones believes that the future of AI is bright. He stresses the idea that AI can do so much good for us and help us to improve the quality of our world. There are endless potential benefits with this technology. However, because of the potential for abuse and the raw power of these systems, we simply must take steps to ensure that this remains an ethical process. For now, it seems obvious that AI is a transformative technology that will widely impact a range of industries, governments, and society as a whole. As we move forward, it will take many conversations between countries and businesses alike to ensure that it is a bright one.
Kathleen Walch is Managing Partner & Principal Analyst at AI Focused Research and Advisory firm Cognilytica (http://cognilytica.com), a leading analyst firm focused on application and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in both the public and private sectors. She is also co-host of the popular AI Today podcast, a top AI related podcast that highlights various AI use cases for both the public and private sector as well as interviews guest experts on AI related topics.