A private members Bill introduced into the UK House of Lords entitled the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill [HL] is an example of a model agile law to regulate AI. It may provide a roadmap as to how to improve AIDA, a draft law that is part of Bill C-27 and widely acknowledged to be flawed.
Like AIDA, it permits a Minister, the Secretary of State, to enact regulations to govern AI systems. However, the regulations are backstopped by a mechanism to maintain Parliamentary sovereignty over the regulatory process that requires the most important regulations to be to laid before and approved by resolution of both Houses of Parliament. It also provides for other regulations to be annulled pursuant to a resolution of either House of Parliament. The draft Bill also contains key principles for governing the regulation of AI systems.
AI Authority
The AI Bill would provide for regulations to create a body called the AI Authority. The functions of the AI Authority, which can be amended by regulation, are to:
(a) ensure that relevant regulators take account of AI;
(b) ensure alignment of approach across relevant regulators in respect of
AI;
(c) undertake a gap analysis of regulatory responsibilities in respect of
AI;
(d) coordinate a review of relevant legislation, including product safety,
privacy and consumer protection, to assess its suitability to address
the challenges and opportunities presented by AI;
(e) monitor and evaluate the overall regulatory framework’s effectiveness
and the implementation including the extent to which they support innovation;
(f) assess and monitor risks across the economy arising from AI;
(g) conduct horizon-scanning, including by consulting the AI industry,
to inform a coherent response to emerging AI technology trends;
(h) support testbeds and sandbox initiatives to help AI
innovators get new technologies to market;
(i) accredit independent AI auditors;
(j) provide education and awareness to give clarity to businesses and to
empower individuals to express views as part of the iteration of the
framework; and
(k) promote interoperability with international regulatory frameworks.
Regulatory principles
Unlike AIDA, the AI Bill sets out key principles for governing the regulation of AI systems. It provides that the AI Authority must have regard to the principles that:
(a) regulation of AI should deliver safety, security and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness; accountability and governance; contestability and redress;
(b) any business which develops, deploys or uses AI should be transparent about it; test it thoroughly and transparently; comply with applicable laws, including in relation to data protection, privacy and intellectual property;
(c) AI and its applications should comply with equalities legislation; be inclusive by design; be designed so as neither to discriminate unlawfully among individuals nor, so far as reasonably practicable, to perpetuate unlawful discrimination arising in input data; meet the needs of those from lower socio-economic groups, older people and disabled people; and generate data that are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable; and
(d) a burden or restriction which is imposed on a person, or on the carrying on of an activity, in respect of AI should be proportionate to the benefits, taking into consideration the nature of the service or product being delivered, the nature of risk to consumers and others, whether the cost of implementation is proportionate to that level of risk and whether the burden or restriction enhances UK international competitiveness.
These principles can also be amended by regulation.
The AI Bill also provides for deployers of AI to have AI responsible officers and for transparency in IP obligations and labelling, and for implementing meaningful public engagement. It also requires the AI Authority to consider the most effective frameworks for public engagement, having regard to international comparators.
While I do not endorse all aspects of the draft AI Bill, it does have certain attributes such as how regulations must be approved or annulled and principles that should govern the regulation of AI systems that are worth consideration.
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