Deloitte AI Experts Say UK ‘Best Placed’ on AI Regulation, AI Summit London

The passing of the EU AI Act was a “big moment” with regulation driving AI companies to consider increased transparency, according to Deloitte’s Mark Cankett.

Speaking at the AI Summit just hours after MEPs approved the landmark legislation, Deloitte’s global lead for algorithm and AI assurance said that the global focus on AI regulation is driving companies toward “being ready to explain how (their) algorithmic processing systems work.”

“There is a great expectation that firms will need to have that kind of documentation base that isn't just fit for engineers, but also for supervisors for auditors, senior management and firms to get a grasp of how the systems are operating to provide confidence that they're designed in a way which is responsive to the risk of the harms considered by the regulatory community,” Cankett said.

The EU AI Act, which is now just a final sign-off away from becoming law, would impose strict restrictions on AI systems deemed to have an impact on a citizen’s rights

Cankett’s Deloitte colleague Barry Liddy said the AI Act contained “a very detailed set of rules.”

The Deloitte AI assurance lead expressed that the EU’s approach was at odds with the U.K.’s approach, which is trying to be flexible so as not to stifle innovation.

Liddy said that the U.K. was "best placed" when compared to its EU counterpart on "the concept of technological neutrality."

“AI systems are evolving so quickly. It almost feels like a sort of Whack a Mole, you're building regulation, then you're having to put in a new annex or addendum and certainly (the) EU has struggled in that regard,” he said. 

“It's been a challenge as the last 12 months of GPT models have arrived, and they've been racing to add the GPT provisions to the EU AI Act. So, there's a big section now in the latest regulation that speaks to foundation models.”

Liddy likened the U.K. to Goldilocks, saying the Sunak administration has the chance to get the regulatory balance right.