The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee
has published the Government's
responseto its report AI and creative
technology scaleups: less talk, more action.
The report, which was published in February, said the UK was at
risk of becoming an ‘incubator economy': one where innovative AI
and creative technology companies launch domestically, but move
overseas or sell up to foreign investors as they grow and become
profitable.
The Committee called on the Government to review and consolidate
a complicated ‘spaghetti' of support schemes that companies found
difficult to navigate, to avoid UK tech unicorns galloping
overseas as they expand. It also emphasised the need for
“sustained political commitment and a laser focus” to deliver the
AI Opportunities Action Plan.
In its response, the Government stated that it is “taking
action to improve the landscape of support” for companies that
are looking to scale. It pointed to the upcoming
industrial strategy, as well as the creation of a new agency, the
Business Growth Service, that will aim to help UK companies
access the support and advice they need. The Government also said
it is “seeking to reduce the overall number of programmes” run by
UKRI.
On AI, the response highlights that a longer-term plan
for computing infrastructure will be published this
spring. It also gives new details on the proposed
National Data Library which it says will be “guided by the
principles of public law and the requirements of the UK's data
protection legislation, including the data protection principles
and data subject rights.”
The Government also set out more details on its plans
regarding AI and copyright, saying a future ‘opt-out'
model “would have to be underpinned by requirements for AI model
developers to be more transparent about how they obtain their
training material.” The Government says it will proceed only when
it is confident that there are rights reservation tools available
that are “accessible, easy to use and effective for rights
holders of all sizes”.
Commenting on the response, , Chair of the Committee,
said:
“The Committee's report called for swift action to enable the
UK's tech and creative industries to thrive. The Government's
response highlights several important announcements it is
scheduled to make in the coming months, including the industrial
strategy, the creative industries sector plan and the long-term
plan for computing infrastructure. A priority for each of these
must be removing barriers to ensure that innovative homegrown
businesses can flourish in the UK.
“It is positive to hear that the Government is taking stock of
the programmes run by UKRI and Innovate UK, but it is not clear
that the Committee's call to ‘do more by doing less' has fully
hit home. Care must be taken to ensure that the Business Growth
Service really does make it easier for business owners to
navigate the help that's available, rather than adding further
complexity to the existing landscape of schemes."
