Turing launches government-backed AI standards information hub

The Alan Turing Institute has announced the formal launch of an AI Standards Hub that the government trialed in January 2022. The institute has teamed up with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to form the hub, which is also supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the government's office for artificial intelligence (AI). The present government was formed on 6 September 2022, and so the launch of the hub is one of the first slew of initiatives that it publicly backs. It is billed as part of the government's 10-year national AI strategy, launched in September 2021. The minister for technology and the digital economy, Damian Collins, who took up his position in August 2022 as part of outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson's interim administration and supported Liz Truss to be leader of the Conservative Party in its leadership election, said: "Our National AI Strategy builds on the UK's position at the forefront of artificial intelligence to fuel innovation and strengthen trust in this transformative technology. "The hub's launch sets the bar for the responsible creation, development and use of AI to unlock its full potential and drive growth across the country." Also from the government, its chief scientific adviser and national technology adviser, Patrick Vallance, said: "The UK's new AI Standards Hub should help create the conditions needed to develop a thriving AI industry and promote innovation." Adrian Smith, director and chief executive of the Alan Turing Institute, said: "As artificial intelligence technologies play an increasingly crucial role across all sectors, it's vital that the development and use of these technologies adheres to commonly agreed and ethically sound standards.