Reframing the AI debate: from existential threat to public asset

The emergence of any new technology makes predictions a fool’s errand. Yet I wonder, a few days after the Paris AI Action Summit, whether we may have just witnessed a reset – a much needed one at that.

For the last few years, the wilder theorists of Silicon Valley have led an AI debate which has veered from existential safety risks to the elevation of society through a singularity — a hypothetical future in which machines surpass human intelligence, ushering in a new era of technological evolution.

Meanwhile, and somewhat depressingly, the options for governments have been presented in similarly stark terms: the regulatory capture attempts of the mainly US hyperscalers or the siren voices across civil society warning of all manner of risks by engaging with new technology.

While there is no simple answer, what is clear is that – like AI technology development itself – governments need a new heuristic: to discover and learn for themselves.

The dominant policy cadres in Government were quick to respond with papers, ethics and early attempts at standards – the UK’s safety approach was a positive example. What has been missing is a whole of society approach, incorporating technology, public interest, economic growth, safety and regulatory alignment.

We aren’t there yet, by any means, but this week saw a fundamental shift in the definition of AI, as Jovan Kurbalija’s analysis of the statement’s changing language shows. At Public Digital, we are delighted to see practical steps taken to make sustainable AI more of a public asset and engine of growth for society.

Back in the race: sovereignty and collaboration

Watch Macron’s speech from Monday evening’s summit again. First, the plaudits: it was electric. Two languages, no notes. He celebrated £100bn+ of inward investment, stood up to the US — "plug, baby, plug" — and championed sustainability while showcasing French skills and technology companies. Vive la France! Indeed.

What Macron’s speech ultimately demonstrated is that, when it comes to AI for public impact, national ambition requires international collaboration.

Taken at its most basic, national scale AI requires concerted effort, spending and alignment across a number of related areas. Data centres cost money and can require national level energy policy. Compute power and public sector access requires funding and management. Skills of many kinds – technological, data, policy and others – need careful nurturing. Much of this can be done in a sovereign way, appropriate to the national conditions. But there are two elements that require international collaboration: data sharing and regulation.

To work at scale, nations need the ability to share and re-use publicly oriented data and learn together. The creation of new institutions capable of doing this, like Current AI and ROOST, represents a commitment to new open standards and tools to grow the network of participating countries. This is, for me, the most far reaching outcome of the Summit.

Actions, not words

As part of President Macron’s Global Tech Thinkers group, I’ve been impressed by how quickly the French realised that this has to be a global play. The number of nations and people from different parts of the ecosystem; the movement away from traditional power centres toward a multi-stakeholder, collaborative approach.

President Macron repeatedly spoke about the ‘ecosystem’ France and Europe is creating and the need to connect domestic progress with international action. This should be a clear message to Whitehall systems of Government enslaved by departmental thinking: Public AI – and the economic benefits accrued – really is a team sport.

There was much talk about the US and UK not signing the statement. Personally I am less bothered about the signature – although it's not helpful – as I am about the UK’s participation in Current AI and the data sharing arrangements that follow. We urgently need the capacity for public institutions to use AI to develop new services and answers to policy challenges in ways that are safe, ethical and cost effective. At this defining moment, participating in institutional development, being a solid partner in sharing learning, tooling and data, is of far greater importance than a signature.

Mike Bracken CBE is co-founder of Public Digital and one of President Macron’s Global Tech Thinkers.