How might the EU AI Act affect the UK’s own AI legislation?

In an article for Society for Computers and Law (SCL), Jacob Gatley reflects on reaction to the EU AI Act and how it differs to the UK’s current policy approach to AI legislation.

On 21 April 2021, the EU Commission published the first ever legal framework on AI. The Artificial Intelligence Act (the Act) was created to address both the apparent risks AI may pose, and to take a global lead with innovation of AI across the EU bloc. Following on from its publication of the National AI Strategy in September 2021, on 18 July 2022 the UK Government set out its approach to regulating AI in the form of an interim policy paper. The latest policy paper was released ahead of the white paper, which was originally intended to be published by the end of 2022. Fast further forward to 2023, it is clear that – legally – not all roads lead to Rome (or Brussels for that matter) since the UK’s departure from the EU.

The full article on AI legislation is available to read on the SCL website.