We can hope for more high-level agreement on shared priorities and goals This is unlikely to happen soon – it takes a better alignment of the political planets and a bit more space to think than we currently have – but we can hope for a renewed sense of international cooperation to break through. If this can take forward the early steps made during the 2018 Canada G7 meeting (a common vision for the future of AI) and the 2019 G20 meeting in Japan (agreed principles and recommendations) then serious, coordinated progress on the best next steps for all of us may result.
An opportunity to shape the debate Regulation will come, and this is a key time for innovators to make their voices heard. Engaging with formal consultations (like the UK IPO’s current consultation on intellectual property rights and AI) and developing policy proposals (like the European Parliament’s legislative initiative for AI regulation and liability) will influence what happens next. This is the right time to get involved – once the laws and regulations are written, changing them will be much harder.
Contributing authors: Mark Pearce, Partner, Mills & Reeve Stephanie Caird, Principal Associate, Mills & Reeve Grace Melvin, Association of Medical Reserch Charities (AMRC)