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UK dismisses independent AI advisory board

60 points by webmaven 3y ago

SillyUsername 3y ago
Was this the same advisory board that didn't have LLMs as a future risk in its reports and was caught completely blindsided by it's emergence?
jjgreen 3y ago
On a page linked: https://therecord.media/uk-disbands-ai-advisory-board-cdei-rishi-sunak https://therecord.media/uk-disbands-ai-advisory-board-cdei-r... While the board’s webpage states it has been closed, the government’s note did not update the page in a way that would have sent an email alert to those subscribed to the topic. Anyone got details on this?
seanhunter 3y ago
This article seems to be missing the point somehow. The CDEI advisory board seem to have been set up with a time-boxed tenure, which has now passed. It's not some nefarious deal - the outgoing board even posted a blog about it on the official CDEI website https://cdei.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/26/championing-responsible-innovation-reflections-from-the-cdei-advisory-board/ https://cdei.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/26/championing-responsible-...
- isodev 3y ago
  And the tenure was not renewed which I think amounts to the same—the UK, by choice, no longer has an independent AI advisory board.
  - seanhunter 3y ago
    That's not the UK's independent AI advisory board, it's an advisory board to one specific govt body which is part of a specific govt deparment. Not 100% clear why having an independent advisory board is something to aspire to.
    - developer93 3y ago
      I think the idea is that it's not influenced by politicians who don't know anything about the topic.
      - seanhunter 3y ago
        That definitely has value if the politicians subsequently listen to the advice. In the UK at the moment that is sadly unlikely.
        developer93 3y ago
        In that case it's useless and disbanding it is sensible, no?
gorgoiler 3y ago
I was expecting to see the advisory board stuffed with the usual “Tatler Tech” cronies — Joanna Shields, Rohan Silva, Michael Acton Smith, etc — but my disdain is way out of date and it seems there were some actually good people involved?: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-board-of-the-centre-for-data-ethics-and-innovation/advisory-board-of-the-centre-for-data-ethics-and-innovation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-board-of...
bradley13 3y ago
As some have pointed out: the board was set up for a particular time, which has passed. It's good to see a government program that is established, does its work, and then goes away. Too many government programs live on forever, becoming nothing but pork. That said, this is the UK government we're talking about. Technically clueless, dreaming of the 1984 surveillance state.
- seanhunter 3y ago
  > this is the UK government we're talking about. Technically clueless, dreaming of the 1984 surveillance state. 100% true. on current form, they are most likely to appoint a large donor/old boss/school chum to run with it.
kcartlidge 3y ago
> “The existential risks seem to be the current focus, at least in the PM’s office,” a former member of the CDEI’s advisory board told ComputerWeekly.com. “You could say that it’s easy to focus on future ‘existential’ risks as it avoids having to consider the detail of what is happening now and take action.” This, unfortunately, seems to be a very common attitude. Often actively promoted by many discussing/promoting the space.

60 points by webmaven 3y ago

Was this the same advisory board that didn't have LLMs as a future risk in its reports and was caught completely blindsided by it's emergence?

jjgreen 3y ago

On a page linked: https://therecord.media/uk-disbands-ai-advisory-board-cdei-rishi-sunak https://therecord.media/uk-disbands-ai-advisory-board-cdei-r... While the board’s webpage states it has been closed, the government’s note did not update the page in a way that would have sent an email alert to those subscribed to the topic. Anyone got details on this?

seanhunter 3y ago

This article seems to be missing the point somehow. The CDEI advisory board seem to have been set up with a time-boxed tenure, which has now passed. It's not some nefarious deal - the outgoing board even posted a blog about it on the official CDEI website https://cdei.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/26/championing-responsible-innovation-reflections-from-the-cdei-advisory-board/ https://cdei.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/26/championing-responsible-...

isodev 3y ago
And the tenure was not renewed which I think amounts to the same—the UK, by choice, no longer has an independent AI advisory board.
- seanhunter 3y ago
  That's not the UK's independent AI advisory board, it's an advisory board to one specific govt body which is part of a specific govt deparment. Not 100% clear why having an independent advisory board is something to aspire to.
  - developer93 3y ago
    I think the idea is that it's not influenced by politicians who don't know anything about the topic.
    - seanhunter 3y ago
      That definitely has value if the politicians subsequently listen to the advice. In the UK at the moment that is sadly unlikely.
      - developer93 3y ago
        In that case it's useless and disbanding it is sensible, no?

gorgoiler 3y ago

I was expecting to see the advisory board stuffed with the usual “Tatler Tech” cronies — Joanna Shields, Rohan Silva, Michael Acton Smith, etc — but my disdain is way out of date and it seems there were some actually good people involved?: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-board-of-the-centre-for-data-ethics-and-innovation/advisory-board-of-the-centre-for-data-ethics-and-innovation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-board-of...

bradley13 3y ago

As some have pointed out: the board was set up for a particular time, which has passed. It's good to see a government program that is established, does its work, and then goes away. Too many government programs live on forever, becoming nothing but pork. That said, this is the UK government we're talking about. Technically clueless, dreaming of the 1984 surveillance state.

seanhunter 3y ago
> this is the UK government we're talking about. Technically clueless, dreaming of the 1984 surveillance state. 100% true. on current form, they are most likely to appoint a large donor/old boss/school chum to run with it.

kcartlidge 3y ago

> “The existential risks seem to be the current focus, at least in the PM’s office,” a former member of the CDEI’s advisory board told ComputerWeekly.com. “You could say that it’s easy to focus on future ‘existential’ risks as it avoids having to consider the detail of what is happening now and take action.” This, unfortunately, seems to be a very common attitude. Often actively promoted by many discussing/promoting the space.