This document 'Artificial Intelligence - The Societal Implications' is one of our 'Considered Proposals'.

While The UK Government is now fully behind the opportunities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in both Public and Private Sector, it appears to be in danger of missing major societal opportunities.

There is no doubt that many societal benefits will flow simply from the drive to adopt AI in both Public and Private sector for both quality and cost reasons. However, there is, in addition, an opportunity to reimagine how our society operates in a way which is for the benefit of all. It is very important that Government recognises and acts on this opportunity in the short-term with appropriate policies to realise the benefits in an incremental way, otherwise the opportunity may be missed forever.

Even worse, if Government doesn’t have a vision for the future, there is a danger of mis-managing AI and creating a dystopian future instead of a halcyon one. AI can either narrow or widen the inequality gap—the outcome depends on whether governments, businesses, and society actively shape AI policy in a way that benefits all. The question is: who controls AI, and who reaps the rewards?