House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence

Call for Evidence

The Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence was appointed to consider the economic, ethical and social implications of advances in artificial intelligence, and to make recommendations. The Committee wants to use this inquiry to understand what opportunities exist for society in the development and use of artificial intelligence, as well as what risks there might be. A Call for Evidence was made on 19 July 2017.

Summary of the Turing’s submission

The submission reflects the Turing’s diverse research disciplines and perspectives. It therefore covers a range of discussion points and application areas concerning AI, with a general acknowledgement that AI has the potential to transform material, social, medical, and political landscapes.

The submission identifies six crucial issues that need to be considered in determining the trustworthiness of AI systems: fairness, transparency, privacy, reliability, security, and value alignment, the combination of which depends on the context in which they are being considered.

It is recommended that government should address public perception around AI, increasing efforts to make AI technology usable through greater research into privacy, security, reliability and transparency, as well as establishing set standards.

Concern is expressed about the concentration of top AI-related talent in large companies, and the privileged access these companies have to university researchers and to individuals’ data. One proposal to tackle this issue is the creation of a data-sharing ‘patent’ system.

Lastly, caution is urged with regards to regulating AI, as specific regulation could reduce innovation and competitiveness for UK industry. Innovation is suggested as more likely to take place where government is supportive and adopts a measured approach.