UNITED KINGDOM

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Key UK policies and perspectives in the area ofAI are reflected in the AI Sector Deal, which was launched in 2018 and updated in 2019. The AI Sector Deal is a response to a 2017 independent review, ‘Growing the artificial intelligence industry in the UK’, that focused on ways of supporting and growing the AI industry in the country.

In addition, the 2017 ‘Industrial Strategy white paper’ identified AI and data as one of four grand challenges, with the aim of putting ‘the UK at the forefront of the AI and data revolution’. Key suggested policies include: (a) raise the total R&D investment to 2.4% of the GDP by 2027; (b) increase the rate of R&D tax credit to 12%; and, (c) invest £725 million in new programmes to capture the value of innovation.

The Office for AI is a unit jointly established by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Its ‘Draft Guidelines for AI Procurement’ is a ‘summary of best practice addressing specific challenges of acquiring Artificial Intelligence in the public sector’. ‘A guide to using artificial intelligence in the public sector’, consisting of several key documents, was also issued by the Office for AI. It includes examples of the use of AI in various government departments and sectors. In 2019, an AI Council was established that brings together leading experts from academia, industry, and other organisations to include a wider representation of actors in the debate, improve the understanding of AI across the UK, and to ‘represent the UK AI Sector on the international stage’.

The 2019 ‘Defence Technology Framework’ lists the following potential defence applications of AI: Automated computer-network defence, improved and automated logistics, performance optimisation, intelligence analysis, autonomous platforms, streamlining administrative back office functions, and supporting decision-making. The UK Ministry of Defence 2018 publication ‘Human-machine teaming (JCN 1/18)’ gives an overview of how future conflicts are likely to be shaped and impacted by AI and robotics. The programme Intelligent Ship, announced by DASA aims to ‘revolutionise the way warships make decisions and process thousands of strands of intelligence and data’.

In the ‘Joint Doctrine Publication 0-30.2: Unmanned Aircraft Systems’, the UK Ministry of Defence stated that the ‘UK does not possess fully autonomous weapon systems and has no intention of developing them’. The country participates in the work of the GGE on LAWS. In its contribution to the GGE in 2019, the UK noted that ‘the continued divergence of views after several years of discussions makes the formulation of a mutually acceptable, practical and enforceable legal instrument unlikely in the near future’. In the UK’s view, such an instrument on banning LAWS ‘would have no practical effect in either preventing illicit developments in military technology or ensuring the implications of emerging technology are tracked, understood and discussed in appropriate international fora’.

5G

The 2017 ‘Next Generation Mobile Technologies: A 5G strategy for the UK’ sets out steps for the UK to become a global leader in technology. It envisions the development of a new centre of 5G expertise with the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). Among other things, the aim of this centre is to make sure that ‘5G development activity across central government and other public sector bodies is coordinated, best practice is captured, and knowledge is disseminated’.

The 5G strategy also recognises the importance of regulation to support infrastructure development and keep pace with technological change. The DCMS runs the 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, which provides governmental funding for the exploration of various aspects of 5G technology. In 2020, a new £65 million package for 5G trials was announced.

The UK government addressed issues related to the security implications of 5G in the context of a Telecoms Supply Chain Review, whose conclusions were published in January 2020. The announced measures, taken at a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), comprise the exclusion of high-risk vendors from: all safety related and safety critical networks in critical national infrastructure; security critical core functions, the sensitive part of the network; and, sensitive geographic locations – such as nuclear sites and military bases. Moreover, high-risk vendors are to be limited to a minority presence of no more than 35% in the periphery of the network. These and other measures are outlined in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance, issued to telecom operators. The government intends to adopt legislative measures ‘at the earliest opportunity to put in place the powers necessary to implement this tough new telecoms security framework’.

In March 2020, the Defence Committee in the UK Parliament launched a Sub-Committee to inquire into the security of the UK’s 5G network. Special focus within this inquiry was placed on the decision taken by the NSC to exclude Huawei technology from the most sensitive parts of the UK’s 5G network, while allowing it to supply peripheral components, in the context of ‘concerns about the security standards of Huawei equipment in general,[and] the extent to which Chinese law could compel the company to assist the State’s intelligence services’.

QUANTUM COMPUTING

In 2013, substantial investment into the National Quantum Technologies Programme (UKNQT) was announced in order to ‘get quantum technology out of laboratories and into the marketplace, to boost British business and make a real difference [in] everyday lives’.

A network of Quantum Technology Hubs was established in 2014 with an initial investment of £120 million in government funding over five years. The four hubs look at sensors and timing, quantum enhanced imaging (QuantIC), quantum computing and simulation, and quantum communications technologies (Quantum Communications Hub).

In 2019, new investment in the UK NQT, with a government contribution of £153 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, was announced.

The 2019 ‘Defence Technology Framework’ mentions applications of quantum technology such as quantum sensing and quantum gravity sensing. Further, the ‘future use of quantum computing for complex problems and parallel processing not suitable for traditional computing’ is identified as an opportunity. The Ministry of Defence, via the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and in collaboration with some UK universities, is exploring quantum sensing to, for example, ‘image and identify multiple moving targets at range around corners using quantum photonic technology’.

ROBOTICS

The automation of manufacturing industry, in particular through the use of autonomous production and collaborative robots is highlighted in the 2017 ‘Made Smarter’ review, an independent report on digitising the manufacturing industry published by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. In 2018, the ‘Robots for a safer world: Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund‘ the focus was on ‘productive technologies for working in extreme environments’.

The 2019 ‘Defence Technology Framework’ lists the following (possible) applications of robotics in the defence sector: replacing human operators with machines in high-risk environments, maximising the effectiveness of human capability by allowing our personnel to focus on complex mission tasks, exceeding the performance of a human operator by taking actions autonomously, generating physical mass in the battlespace through resilient swarms of low-cost systems, completely new ways of operating, including through integrated human-machine teams, and supporting an active military presence in areas where it would not traditionally be possible.

The UK Ministry of Defence 2018 publication ‘Human-machine teaming (JCN 1/18’) gives an overview of how future conflicts are likely to be shaped and impacted by AI and robotics. The Ministry of Defence actively explores a number of robotics applications, examples include an autonomous submarine and semi-autonomous reconnaissance vehicles. These and other programmes are run by the DASA.

INTERNET OF THINGS

The UK is focused on providing policies and guidelines for IoT security. A 2014 report by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser ‘Internet of things: making the most of the second digital revolution’ recommends ‘10 actions for governments to maximise the opportunities and reduce the risks of these new technologies’.

In 2018, the National Cybersecurity Centre published its ‘Secure by Default’ report. A ‘Code of Practice for Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) Security for manufacturers’ was launched in 2019. In addition to guidelines for manufacturers and retailers, it also includes guidelines for consumers and consumer groups. The recommendations build on the ‘Secure by Design’ report of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. A new law to protect the users of Internet-connected household items has been suggested.

A 2015 competition was set by the Security Service (MI5), the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in order to address the security implications of IoT. The particular challenges identified included: (a) how to manage the security of IoT devices; (b) how to manage the privacy of data collected by devices; and, (c) how to ‘pull together and visualise data from a diverse, sensor-rich, loosely connected environment that operates across different protocols and standards’.

The 2019 ‘Defence Technology Framework’ mentions IoT in the context of the availability of big data sets to improve situational understanding and as a way of enhancing capabilities in the field. The IoT has also been discussed as a way of connecting the UK’s armed forces under one system with the advantages of: (a) increasing supply chain efficiency; (b) developing and improving predictive analytics by monitoring human and material elements; (c) improving asset performance; and, (d) better predicting downtime.

AUGMENTED/VIRTUAL REALITY

When it comes to the defence sector, the UK is focused on investing in research, in particular through DASA.

The 2019 ‘Defence Technology Framework’ lists augmented and mixed realities as part of human enhancement. The simulation of the complexity of future battle spaces and the integration into training and wargaming is one of the priorities set by the 2019 ‘Guidance on Defence Innovation Priorities’. For example, questions around the integration of virtual reality into soldier training – such as improving environmental immersion, seeing and interacting with physical objects, avatar customisation, and data capture and analysis for performance review – are explored as part The Virtual Reality in Land Training (VRLT). Gaming for military training to make training more ‘realistic, intuitive and immersive, while lowering the costs’ is also being explored. Another DASA-funded project on telexistence explores ‘merging haptic and robotic technologies with telepresence capability’.

BLOCKCHAIN

In 2018, the UK Cryptoassets Taskforce, bringing together HM Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its final report to suggest the UK’s policy and regulatory approach to distributed ledger technology (DLT), with the aim of ‘maintaining safe and transparent financial markets’ and financial stability, while ensuring the UK’s ‘position as one of the leading financial centres globally’. In 2019, the FCA published a consultation paper ‘Guidance on Cryptoassets’.

The UK Parliament has an All Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain.

A report on ‘Distributed Ledger Technology: beyond block chain’ was published by the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser. In addition to discussing questions of security, privacy, and the technology’s disruptive potential, the report also outlines DLT applications in government.

The UK Ministry of Defence recognises the importance of DLT for defence, especially in the area of cybersecurity. Yet, questions around appropriate regulation, data sharing, and data security remain open. In terms of regulation and international efforts, there is additional uncertainty due to the UK leaving the EU.

In January 2020, the Bank of England joined other central banks in an international working group tasked with assessing potential cases for central bank digital currencies.