The UK government has announced it is set to host an AI Safety Summit in
November, to address the global threats to democracy posed by artificial
intelligence (AI), focusing on topics such as cyber security and
misinformation. The summit will also see participation from leading
academics and executives from AI companies such as Google’s DeepMind,
Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. In light of this, Claire Trachet, CEO
of business advisory, Trachet, discusses how this forum demonstrates the
governmental focus on safer and more effective regulation around
generative AI.
This comes following concerns raised around the UK’s stance on
effective regulation after the government released an AI white paper.
According to research from Ada Lovelace, there appeared to be
‘significant gaps’ within the UK’s AI safety plan, leaving the majority
of the responsibility with regulators. According to Trachet, the UK has
capitalised on the economic benefits of AI – with research from
Earlybird revealing that Britain houses the largest number of AI
startups in Europe, with around 334 – whilst this is pleasing to see,
she highlights how there remains a great need to not to lose sight of
taking precautionary actions against any potential risks posed by AI.
Whilst AI continues to serve as a cause for optimism, having contributed
roughly £3.7bn in value to the UK economy, as well as attracting almost
£19bn in private investment through 2022, the report revealed concerns
over light regulation not being able to combat growing harms and calls
for an ‘expensive’ definition’ to be given to AI. This comes after
a survey from the Prospect Trade Union found that 60% of respondents
want the UK government to provide AI regulation in the workplace. With
this in mind, Trachet explains how the forum presents an opportunity for
governments and experts from around the world to come together and find
an effective solution that can benefit businesses and consumers.
Claire Trachet, tech industry expert and CEO of business advisory,
Trachet [2], highlights how this forum demonstrates the UK government
highlighting the need for safer and more effective regulation around
generative AI:
_“Whilst generative AI continues to bring about a wave of excitement,
dominating headlines and driving investment into the economy, the
fast-growing nature of AI has made it difficult for governments to
balance creating effective regulation, to safeguard the interest of
businesses and consumers without stifling investment opportunities. Even
though there are some forms of risk management and different reports
coming out now, none of them are true coordinated approaches._
“However, this summit could provide governments with a greater
understanding of how to approach such new technology and how they can
work together to achieve their aims. It’s great to see that academics,
executives within these AI tech companies, and the government are all
coming together to collaborate and address issues that could lead to
policy recommendations and guidelines for AI regulation.
“This will also contribute to raising more awareness about the
importance of AI safety and regulation. This increased understanding
from the public could also lead to governments taking a greater approach
in establishing regulatory principles. Finally, the outcome of the
summit could help shape global norms and standards for AI safety and
regulation. As more countries begin to adopt similar regulatory
approaches, it could become increasingly difficult for outliers to
disregard these standards.
Claire Trachet is available to comment on the following topics:
* The impact AI will have on the M&A sector
* The balance between effective AI regulation and driving innovation
in the sector
* Her experience in providing structure to scale-ups looking for
finance or exit
* The current state of M&As in the UK
* How uncertainty in the IPO market is creating opportunity for
private equity and M&As
About Trachet:
The Trachet advisory team has been helping founders accelerate growth
since 2016, utilising decades of cross-industry experience as one of the
only female-led teams in the sector. Trachet also firmly believes in the
importance of sourcing and matching the right buyers for their clients.
Their people-first approach ensures that the businesses and founders
they work with are able to secure finance or complete deals in a way
that allows the company to achieve their commercial growth goals while
fulfilling its mission.
Trachet has significant experience of working across sub-sectors in
Tech, such as CleanTech, DeepTech (AI, NLP, University spin-outs),
TravelTech, FinTech, SaaS, marketplaces. Beyond Tech, they have provided
its advisory services across a number of sectors including Chemicals,
Infrastructure, Healthcare and Natural Resources.
