The government has announced the formation of an AI Standards Hub, with a pilot being led by the Alan Turing Institute supported by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPI).
As part of the UK’s national artificial intelligence strategy, the hub will aim to increase UK contribution to the development of global AI technical standards. Advanced engineering and manufacturing is an area which will be given particular focus, we understand.
It “will create practical tools for businesses, bring the UK’s AI community together through a new online platform, and develop educational materials to help organisations develop and benefit from global standards”, the government says. “The hub will work to improve the governance of AI, complement pro-innovation regulation and unlock the huge economic potential of these technologies to boost investment and employment now the UK has left the European Union.”
The last comment will be noted for its implication that Brexit gives the UK far greater opportunity in AI than it had as part of the EU.
Chris Philip, minister for tech and the digital economy at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says: “It’s imperative the UK remains at the forefront of this transformative technology, which is already improving our lives and has huge potential to create new jobs and wealth.”
DCMS has just published research on AI adoption by companies. It suggests that manufacturing sits roughly mid-table in terms of adoption level, slightly behind transport and distribution and slightly ahead of education. The research shows proportions of firms that have adopted AI, are piloting it, and are planning to use AI. In each sector, current adopters and those planning to use AI are roughly equal in number and the proportion piloting AI is small; overall, around 2%.
Links: AI Standards Hub announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-uk-initiative-to-shape-global-standards-for-artificial-intelligence
AI strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-ai-strategy/national-ai-strategy-html-version
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