Ahead of the AI Safety Summit 2023, the Law Society of England and Wales has made artificial intelligence (AI) regulation recommendations for the government to consider. The recommendations, made in response to the government’s white paper on regulation, include:
- The expertise of the legal profession should be recognised and harnessed in the AI regulatory approach.
- Legal professional privilege must be protected in the future regulation of AI.
- The UK government should take a balanced approach to regulation to safeguard social interests while not impeding technological progression.
- Legislation should establish parameters where the use of AI is unacceptable or where it is inappropriate for AI to make zero-sum decisions.
- The UK government should set out a definition for ‘meaningful human intervention’ in AI.
- Organisations should appoint an AI Officer when needed.
- Mandatory transparency is needed for the use of AI in government or public services and establishing a due diligence system to boost public trust.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said:
“As the government prepares for its summit on AI, we are working with our members to show the benefits of AI for the legal profession. The legal profession plays an integral role in shaping the future of AI regulation. We recognise AI’s potential to transform lives, boost the economy and increase access to justice.
However, our members need further clarity on legislation, procurement practices and how discrepancies across sectors will be mitigated to enable the profession to make the most of these technologies.”
What’s more, a new Moody’s Analytics study reveals that while there is an overwhelming desire for AI adoption in compliance, significant barriers hinder progress including poor internal data quality, a lack of clarity around regulation, and a specialist knowledge gap.
The study, which included a survey of more than 550 senior compliance and risk management professionals from 67 countries, assessed their perspectives on and uses of AI. It shows that the top three areas where AI is being applied are data analysis and interpretation (63%), risk management (53%), and fraud detection (51%).
Looking ahead, 83% of all surveyed respondents expect widespread adoption of AI in risk and compliance in the next one to five years. The study also found 79% of professionals feel that new legislation to regulate the use of AI in compliance is important, while 66% seek greater clarity around any existing AI-related regulations in risk and compliance. Keith Berry, General Manager Know Your Customer Solutions at Moody’s Analytics, said:
“Compliance professionals are convinced that AI will be transformative for their industry, but obstacles remain that could hinder risk management and compliance functions from capitalizing on its potential. The benefits of AI are currently viewed in easy-to-measure quantitative terms. Process efficiencies are a good start to AI adoption, but they are only scratching the surface of the technology’s capabilities. Advanced data analytics, accurate predictions, and the scalability of data are all features compliance teams will not want to miss out on.”
