The UK’s ambitions of taking a central role in policing artificial intelligence globally have been hit by its struggles to launch an outpost in the US and an incoming Trump administration which is threatening to take a ‘starkly’ different approach to AI regulation.
The British government is looking to bolster its AI Safety Institute (AISI), established last year with a £50mn budget and 100 staff, as it seeks to solidify its position as the world’s best-resourced body investigating the risks around AI.
Leading tech companies including OpenAI and Google have allowed the AISI to test and review their latest AI models. But plans to expand further by opening a San Francisco office in May were delayed, because of elections in both the US and UK and difficulty recruiting for the Silicon Valley outpost, according to people with knowledge of the matter.