Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, what progress her Department has made on boosting AI research through the launch of nine new research hubs across the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has invested £86 million in new research hubs that will propel the UK to the forefront of advanced AI research. The hubs are broad consortia of universities and businesses, which will leverage the UK’s world leading AI research, connecting universities and businesses and creating spinouts who will deliver next-generation innovations and technologies.
This focussed investment will enable AI to evolve and tackle complex problems across applications from healthcare treatments to power-efficient electronics, transforming the way we develop and use AI, and is part of a larger investment of over £300 million in AI research and training by EPSRC over the past 12 months, safeguarding the UK’s digital future.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, how much of the £10m to jumpstart regulator’s AI capabilities has been allocated.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is moving at pace to design the mechanism for allocating the £10m funding to jumpstart regulator capabilities. The Government is actively engaging with regulators to ensure this is delivered in a way that best supports their needs. The Government expects to launch the fund this summer and will allocate the funding during the course of this financial year and 25/26.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department expects to send ministerial representatives to the South Korean AI safety summit.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As this is a co-hosted Summit between the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, the Government can confirm that the Secretary of State will be attending the Summit in Seoul. At this moment, the Government cannot confirm if there will be any other ministerial representatives to attend in the Summit.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13769 on Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment, how many risks have been (a) identified and (b) included on her Department's AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT’s Central AI Risk Function owns the AI Risk Register and is responsible for the processes by which we identify, assess and prepare for AI risks.
Mitigating these risks is a cross-Government effort. DSIT works in partnership with relevant risk owning departments, agencies and regulators, to ensure we assess and prepare for these risks in a timely manner.
In the White Paper we committed to publishing the risk register. This will commence from Spring 2024.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has set a deadline by which her Department must take steps once a risk is added to the AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The appropriate mitigation plan for any risk depends on the nature of the risk itself.
DSIT’s Central AI Risk Function owns the AI Risk Register and is responsible for the processes by which we identify, assess and prepare for AI risks.
Mitigating these risks is a cross-Government effort and in many cases DSIT is not the lead Department or Risk Owner. We work extremely closely with other government departments, agencies and regulators to ensure we are preparing for these risks in a timely manner.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to mitigate risks which have been recorded in the her Department's AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Risk Register is owned and managed by the Central AI Risk Function (CAIRF). CAIRF has been established as part of our central functions which support coordination of the AI governance landscape. CAIRF conducts central risk assessment, monitors identified risks included on the register, and identifies relevant risk owners across government. DSIT will be responsible for cross-cutting mitigations to AI risks.
We are working with departments and regulators on how they best respond to AI risks within their remits. Many regulators are already taking action in line with our principles-based approach, such as the CMA’s review into foundation models.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, if he will publish the list of risks on the Department's AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
To track identified risks, we have established an initial AI Risk Register which is owned by the Central AI Risk Function. The AI risk register lists individual risks associated with AI and outlines their likelihood and impact.
In the White Paper we committed to engaging and publishing the risk register. From Spring 2024 we will begin a call for evidence on the risks recorded on the AI risk register.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, what her Department's criteria is for identifying a risk and recording it on the AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The central AI risk function will maintain a holistic view of risks across the AI ecosystem. It will look at risk factors that cut across many risks, such as model capabilities, adoption, release practices, use cases, actors, and other vulnerabilities as well as the extent to which existing mitigations or resilience reduce the risk, and where gaps remain.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2024 to Question 10644 on Artificial Intelligence and ICT: Postgraduate Education, how much industry co-funding (a) for scholarship funding and (b) excluding in-kind support has been secured by her Department since November 2023.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In November 2023 DSIT, through the Office for Students, published the latest data on industry funding for the AI conversion course and scholarship scheme as part of ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The next interim evaluation report is due to be published in June 2024 and will contain the latest breakdown of in-kind and scholarship funding commitments secured from industry, including the period since November 2023.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's response to the AI regulation White Paper entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response, published on 6 February 2024, how many civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) across Government are working on the risk register of AI risks.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We currently have 10 officials working on AI risks in the central AI risk function, which owns the AI Risk Register. This is part of the wider AI Policy Directorate and AI Safety Institute of roughly 200 officials that includes teams covering AI regulation, strategy and risk, UK capability and international engagement. In addition, there are wider risk owning teams in at least 15 other Government Departments, who work on AI risks in their remits. We do not hold resourcing numbers for other Governments Departments.