Extract from oral questions in the Scottish Parliament to the Department for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work: Automation and Artificial Intelligence (Employment Opportunities) - Feb 7

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): The physicist Stephen Hawking has said that the emergence of artificial intelligence could be

"the worst event in the history of our civilisation".

Professor Kevin Warwick of Coventry University has tested network AI systems that cannot be switched off if they go rogue, which would be a particular problem for military applications for which AI is currently being developed. The Tesla car maker and space pioneer Elon Musk has asserted that AI is

"as big a threat to humanity as climate change or nuclear war".

Those views may well be alarmist, but what safeguards are being developed with regard to artificial intelligence here in Scotland?

Jamie Hepburn: Far be it from me to disagree with Stephen Hawking, but Kenneth Gibson is correct in saying that those views may be somewhat alarmist. However, I recognise that concern and it is incumbent on us not only to consider the potential impact on the labour market but to hear those concerns. We will work in conjunction with industry and academia to gain a full understanding of future technologies and to make informed judgments about the move to greater automation in the labour market and the introduction of artificial intelligence.

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