Assuring Growth: Making the UK a Global Leader in AI Assurance Technology
This policy memo by Jam Kraprayoon and Bill Anderson-Samways, published by the UKDayOne and the Social Market Foundation, recommends that the UK government implement a targeted market-shaping program mobilizing public and private sector investment to supercharge the UK’s AI assurance technology industry.
AI could bring massive growth and upgrade public services, but organizations need assurance that AI tools are safe, secure, and reliable. AI assurance technology (AIAT) - solutions for AI alignment, security, auditing, authentication, and risk management - are a key missing piece.
New modeling suggests that the global AIAT market will reach $276 billion by 2030. However, most AI assurance tech needs R&D investment to operate at scale and potential AIAT companies face three major challenges:
Uncertainties about the future regulatory environment around AI, both domestically and internationally, making it harder for companies to set R&D priorities.
Uncertainties about prioritization, e.g. what assurance solutions will be most useful for businesses looking to capitalize on AI-led growth.
Risks associated with uneven demand, like investing in R&D for specific technologies where demand is presently weak.
With the right policies in place, the UK government can address these challenges, resulting in far more private investment flowing into this sector and more start-ups springing up in the UK.
The UK already has a head-start in AI assurance tech, with a world-leading AI Safety Institute (AISI) and a fledgling group of AI assurance start-ups. But uncertainties around regulation, technical priorities and demand mean that the global AIAT market is still up for grabs.
UK government can become a global leader in the emerging AIAT market through a targeted market-shaping program. This report makes the following five recommendations for the new government:
Establish an inter-departmental group to guide AI assurance policy.
Develop a three-year roadmap for introducing mandatory AI assurance standards, agreed with the EU and US.
Direct £10m of the AI Safety Institute’s existing budget into funding for start-ups in priority AI assurance technologies, and grant companies developing said tech free access to public compute.
Commission a study analyzing the technical and market barriers to developing and commercializing priority AI assurance tech.
Invest £50m in pull mechanisms (rewarding entities after they meet specific goals) for AIAT. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology should seek support from private donors to match public investment for these pull mechanisms.
Click here to read the memo on the UK Day One Project’s website.
Click here to read the memo on the Social Market Foundation’s website.