Trade, Tech, and Artificial Intelligence: Exporting British Values?

Event details

The UK industrial strategy sets out grand challenges to put UK business at the forefront of the industries of the future. It has set Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data as one of the global trends that will transform the future. The government has pledged to make the UK a global centre for AI and data-driven innovation and to seize this global opportunity. It will expand export and investment support for AI business and make data mining and sharing easier. Along with UK Business, the UK is focussed on promoting British values, to which the rule of law and human rights are central. The government promises to lead the world in the safe and ethical use of data. But what does this mean in practice?

The use of AI and data technologies has myriad positive uses and undoubtedly promotes economic growth. Yet the technology has attracted increased criticism that it can, if not properly regulated, have detrimental impacts on society. Surveillance technology and data mining have raised concerns about privacy, freedom of expression, opinion and assembly, all central components of British democracy. The use of AI in decision making, from the allocation of social welfare to its use in the judiciary can result in discrimination and undermine the transparency and accountability central to the public's trust in institutions. At the extreme, AI technology underpins the development of autonomous weapons that raise a number of ethical questions. All of these AI applications are linked to British business and require public discussion and specific regulation to ensure that the UK supports activities in line with the rule of law and human rights.

The AI and Human Rights Network (AIHRN) is a panel of experts supported by the Roehampton University and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law's Business and Human Rights research team. It is funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund to bring experts together to discuss the challenges in regulating AI Business and to make policy recommendations for the British Government. The AIHRN will convene a roundtable on 20 May 2020 to produce guidelines outlining the main challenges and make recommendations to overcome those challenges in a manner that ensures the UKs goal of leading the world in the safe and ethical application of AI.

Registration

Attendance is by invitation only. Please contact Dr Irene Pietropaoli if you have any queries, or would like to attend.