WORLDS APART ON REGULATING THE AI REVOLUTION

From academia to the arts, in music, movies, other audio and visual productions, and just about every facet of society, the impact of AI is a pervasive presence. And it’s just getting started.

AI(artificial intelligence) is being completely embraced on the one hand while being cautiously handled on the other. At the same time, it’s feared as a terrifying and uncontrollable incursion and assault on human ingenuity…the same human ingenuity which created it. It’s now being reported that some aspects of AI technology are even self-generating and autonomous in decision-making.

That speaks to the all-embracing, multi-faceted tentacles of this technological revolution which is quite unlike anything mankind has had to deal with.

In many respects, despite its unfathomable potential, AI is still in its developmental stages, and those latching on to what they see as its advantages are still early adopters.

A central global issue with the initial explosion of AI across all sectors and its potential for exponential expansion is regulation.

Governments throughout the world are now being forced to catch up with the pace at which the technology is expanding and being adopted.

UK CONTEMPLATES

The UK does not have any AI-specific regulation or legislation covering AI as a technology. Instead, AI is regulated in the context in which it is used, through existing legal frameworks, such as financial services legislation.

According to the UK’s Parliamentary Hansard, some regulators, however, have oversight of the development, implementation, and use of AI more broadly. For example, the Information Commissioner’s Office (the UK’s independent body established to uphold information rights) has guidance on its website covering AI and data protection and explaining decisions made with AI. The UK also uses non-statutory principles for AI governance and targeted legislation. This includes the Online Safety Act 2023, which empowers Ofcom to regulate online services, including AI chatbots.

In a 2023 AI white paper(consultation paper), the then Conservative Government under Rishi Sunak proposed that AI would continue to be overseen by existing regulators covering specific sectors, such as Ofcom (the UK’s communications regulator) and Ofgem (Great Britain’s energy regulator).

This context-based approach to regulation was favoured by the government, and preferred to a single regulatory function and uniform rules for governing AI.

By 2024, the Labour government, then under recently resigned prime minister Keir Starmer, said that “most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use” and that “existing expert regulators are best placed to do this”. The Labour government had signalled in its 2024 election manifesto, and in the 2024 King’s Speech, that it would introduce “binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models” to ensure their safe development. Legislation, however, has not yet been forthcoming.

The government has published several AI-related policies, including the AI Opportunities Action Plan. AI policies have mainly focused on boosting the AI sector, and promoting innovation in and adoption of AI to help drive growth and productivity across the UK economy.

Currently, the new Labour government under new prime minister Andy Burnham has indicated that it would consider regulating advanced AI models if its current voluntary system for testing them before deployment no longer proved sufficient to protect the public.

In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the UK’s  AI Minister, Kanishka Narayan, said the government sees AI as a driver of economic growth and has sought to position Britain as one of the world’s leading destinations for AI investment. Britain is the European leader in AI funding and start-ups.

“If the right mechanism and lever changes in time and it feels like regulation might be a way that helps us do that, of course, we will look at it,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

The UK doesn’t presently have an agency charged specifically with regulating AI but relies on existing agencies and legislation.

US WAITS

The United States also doesn’t have an AI-specific regulatory agency, but President Trump has said his administration is considering the matter in the wake of recent cybersecurity hacking breaches, notably against several major companies.

“We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls, we’re also making sure that we lead,” the American president stated.

EU MOVES

While the US is at the forefront of the AI revolution, the European Union, which is also establishing its own AI footprint, is moving faster in the area of regulation.

Just this week, the EU announced the implementation of its new AI Act, intended to place AI activities under strict control, but which at the same time is meant to facilitate the development of the technology.

AI companies in the EU are now required to clearly label chatbots, deepfakes, and other AI-generated content. Compliance will be closely monitored with severe penalties.

CALYPSO CONTEXT CONTEXT

In the Caribbean, the concern about the impact of AI in the arts, particularly calypso competitions, has become a matter of concern for organisers.

In typical Caribbean calypso competition style, the issue has become the topic of a witty, yet serious calypso with Chrystal Beckles of Barbados tackling the issue head-on in her song ‘AI Gine Win De Crown (AI is going to win the crown)’.

This time though, neither AI nor Chrystal won the Barbados Calypso crown. It went to the singer AC (Adrian Clarke) with his hit Legends From the Grave.