Speaking at the Chamber yesterday, and specifically during the Chamber’s “Trustworthy, Ethical and Inclusive Artificial Intelligence — Seizing Opportunities for Scotland’s People and Businesses” debate, Lochhead put forward his concerns on how No.10’s AI regulation approach could impact Scotland’s ability to appropriately manage AI’s advantages and risks.

“We are a bit concerned that the current UK government plans for the hands-off, non-statutory regulation of AI will not meet Scotland’s needs,” he said. “We don’t want to create unnecessary red tape, but we do have a duty to create the right supportive environment for business to thrive, and also for citizens to be protected.”

“We have a vision to make Scotland a leader in the development and use of AI in a way that is trustworthy, ethical, and inclusive,” he mentioned. “But most of these levers in terms of regulation are currently controlled by the UK government. Data protection; consumer protection; equality and human rights; employment regulations; medical devices regulations; telecommunications; financial services; self-driving cars — they’re all reserved matters to the UK government.”

As part of his efforts to help foster a safe, supportive Scottish environment for AI, the Minister mentioned that he will write to the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Chloe Smith, to request an intensified dialogue between the UK government and the devolved administrations.

The Minister also called for a four nations summit on the implications of AI to be held “as soon as possible,” as to kickstart the UK-wide intensified dialogue that Lochhead seeks.

Furthermore, he has announced that he is commissioning the Scottish AI Alliance — the partnership between the Scottish government and the Data Lab, which provides a focus for dialogue, collaboration, and action on all things AI in Scotland — to lead an independent review of what Scotland should do to maximise benefits of AI, all while simultaneously controlling the risks.

“It’s the job of democratic governments to ensure that the benefits are spread as fairly as possible, and the risks controlled,” the Minister noted.

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The debate in the Chamber — and Lochhead’s comments — come as the AI industry faces increased scrutiny from global regulators in a bid to limit the potential negative societal impacts of AI as it advances.

Earlier this week, DIGIT reported on the news that the Centre for AI Safety’s statement that “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” has been signed by myriad notable tech figures, not least Sam Altman — the Chief Executive of OpenAI, the company behind generative AI chatbot ChatGPT.