Thank you for your question. Whilst the government currently remains committed to refraining from producing primary legislation to regulate AI technologies, it remains to be seen whether the Private Members Bill will impact this. One hopes it will!

Thank you for your question. There are shortcomings in the Private Members Bill, such as the omission of a specific provision governing enforcement and sanctions for non-compliance (section 8(2) merely states vaguely that regulations under this Act can create offences or penalties/fines/fees). In my opinion – and in response to your question – this means that the Bill would not wholly sufficiently address the issue of AI regulation. However, the enactment of the Bill would certainly mark a step in the right direction and would signal to businesses that the government takes the issue seriously – which in and of itself serves as a useful deterrent against the misuse of AI. The Private Members Bill would also certainly bring tangible benefits and protections to the sphere of AI regulation, namely: the creation of an AI authority (section 1) and the need for a proportionate relationship between the intrusiveness of AI regulation with the risks that certain AI uses pose to fundamental rights – the “sliding scale” approach (section 2(1)(c)-(d)). It remains to be seen whether this Private Members Bill will complete the notoriously long journey from introduction to enactment – it currently has passed its first reading in the House of Lords and awaits a date for a second reading to be announced.