The first UKRI Responsible AI UK town hall event was held on 26th June, with around one hundred people joining us at Goodenough College, London. This was an afternoon introducing the mission of the RAi UK programme. ‘Ecosystem’ was the key term – one central to the original funding call, as well as in the UK government’s own plans for artificial intelligence. An ecosystem is about interactions: it’s a community in a particular environment, with all its relationships and exchanges. Right now, the responsible AI ecosystem is fragmented and so our remit is to draw together ongoing initiatives and co-develop new ones. We aren’t trying to create this network alone: we’re gluing the existing parts together, building bridges between existing initiatives and institutions and amplifying work already underway.
“Suddenly, the buzzword is ‘AI Safety’,” Prof Dame Wendy Hall told us in her introduction. “And we need some sanity around this.” Despite headlines about existential threats, there are tangible things we can – and should – be doing now to ensure that AI is deployed in a manner that is safe and trustworthy. With international attention turned towards the UK’s promised AI Safety Summit in the autumn, it’s vital that research in this space is focussed on AI use that benefits people, communities and society.
Our CEO, Prof Gopal Ramchurn, talked about our mission: to develop national and international conversations around AI, to provide spaces to ensure all voices from within the RAi UK community are heard regardless of seniority or loudness, and to deliver research that addresses societal and economic challenges such as climate change and national security.
We heard from members of the leadership and delivery teams about our intended work in policy, creative and outreach streams, education and skills, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. Regional connectivity was also introduced, with Prof Máire O’Neill telling us about ongoing work in Northern Ireland, and Prof Matt Jones describing opportunities in Cymru/Wales, with evocative commentary about the impact of the Industrial Revolution there, asking how we do better to avoid extractive and exploitative technologies this time round. “AI for the people, with the people,” he urged.
After the closing of the presentations by Jo Marriott from UKRI, we moved to parallel roundtable discussions on AI Standards and Regulation, Future of Work, Health & Social Care, Defence, Security & the Judicial System, and Sustainability. This was followed by conversations and networking, and a reminder that this is only the first of our roundtables. We will be holding more over the coming months, all around the UK: the RAi UK Belfast town hall on 11 Sept, the RAi UK Glasgow town hall on 25 Sept, and the RAi UK Cardiff town hall on 11 Oct. We hope to see you there.