UK parliamentary committee calls for proactive measures to tackle challenges related to artificial intelligence

In a report on on robotics and artificial intelligence, the Science and Technology Committee in the UK parliament asks the government to take proactive measures to tackle ‘a host of social, ethical and legal questions’ related to the use of autonomous technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). While noting that it is too soon to consider sector-wide regulations for AI, the committee points out to several issues that require ‘serious, ongoing consideration’: minimising the possibility of bias being accidentally built into AI systems; ensuring decision-making transparency for AI systems; instigating methods that can verify that AI technology is operating as intended and that unwanted, or unpredictable, behaviours are not produced. The report also looks into the implications of AI on jobs and skills, asking for more attention on adapting education and training systems to update skills to match with emerging technologies.