Ministers have delayed plans to regulate artificial intelligence as the UK government seeks to align itself with Donald Trump’s administration on the technology, the Guardian has learned.
A long-awaited AI bill, which ministers had originally intended to publish before Christmas, is not expected to appear in parliament before the summer, according to three Labour sources briefed on the plans.
Ministers had intended to publish a short bill within months of entering office that would have required companies to hand over large AI models such as ChatGPT for testing by the UK’s AI Security Institute.
The bill was intended to be the government’s answer to concerns that AI models could become so advanced that they pose a risk to humanity, and were different from separate proposals to clarify how AI companies can use copyrighted material.
Trump’s election has led to a rethink, however. A senior Labour source said the bill was “properly in the background” and that there were still “no hard proposals in terms of what the legislation looks like”. “They said let’s try and get it done before Christmas – now it’s summer,” the source added.
Another Labour source briefed on the legislation said an iteration of the bill had been prepared months ago but was now up in the air because of Trump, with ministers reluctant to take action that could weaken the UK’s attractiveness to AI companies.
Trump has torpedoed plans by his predecessor Joe Biden for regulating AI and revoked an executive order on making the technology safe and trustworthy. The future of the US AI Safety Institute, founded by Biden, is uncertain after its director resigned this month. At an AI summit hosted in Paris, JD Vance, the US vice-president, railed against Europe’s planned regulation of the technology.
The UK government chose to side with the US by refusing to sign the Paris declaration endorsed by 66 other countries at the summit. Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, has reportedly drafted proposals to make the UK the main hub for US AI investment.
Speaking to the committee in December, Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, appeared to suggest the AI bill was at an advantaged stage. But earlier this month Patrick Vallance, the science minister, told MPs that “there is no bill at the moment”.
A government spokesperson said: “This government remains committed to bringing forward legislation which allows us to safely realise the enormous benefits of AI for years to come.
“As you would expect, we are continuing to engage extensively to refine our proposals and will launch a public consultation in due course to ensure our approach is future-proofed and effective against this fast-evolving technology.”
Ministers are under pressure over separate plans to allow AI companies to draw on online material including creative work to train their models without needing copyright permission.
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Artists including Paul McCartney and Elton John are campaigning against the move, which they have warned would allow firms to “ride roughshod over the traditional copyright laws that protect artists’ livelihoods”.
