New plans for regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will be published today to help develop consistent rules to promote innovation in this groundbreaking technology and protect the public. It comes as the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill is introduced to Parliament which will transform the UK's data laws to boost innovation in technologies such as AI. The Bill will seize the benefits of Brexit to keep a high standard of protection for people's privacy and personal data while delivering around £1 billion in savings for businesses. Artificial Intelligence refers to machines which learn from data how to perform tasks normally performed by humans. For example, AI helps identify patterns in financial transactions that could indicate fraud and clinicians diagnose illnesses based on chest images.

The UK government will reveal its plans for regulating artificial intelligence (AI) today, and says it wants to hand more powers to existing regulators to deal with algorithms and automated systems, rather than setting up a dedicated body to look at issues around AI. Plans outlined in a new AI paper, being published this morning, would involve regulators such as the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Competition and Markets Authority being asked to monitor the impact of AI on their sectors, based on a set of guiding principles. The government says the regulators will be encouraged to take a "light touch" approach to enforcing these principles. The paper will be published this morning when the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, previously referred to as the Data Reform Bill, which sets the UK's post-Brexit data regime, is introduced in parliament. Full details of the UK AI regulations have yet to be revealed, but the government says its plans will "allow different regulators to take a tailored approach to the use of AI in a range of settings." It claims this "better reflects the growing use of AI in a range of sectors".