CHORUS OF LEADING AI FOUNDERS, INVESTORS AND ACADEMICS ASK GOVERNMENT TO URGE PARLIAMENT TO REJECT COPYRIGHT AMENDMENTS THAT COULD CRIPPLE UK’S AI INDUSTRY
London, UK. A letter organised by The Entrepreneurs Network has been published today, asking the Government to urge Members of Parliament and Peers to reject amendments on copyright to the Data (Use and Access) Bill on the grounds that they would jeopardise the UK’s position as a global AI leader. The letter is being published ahead of the Data Bill returning to the House of Lords, and has been signed by a group of prominent AI founders, investors and academics – including Professor Lord Tarassenko, Professor Alison Noble CBE and Sir John Michael Brady. The letter argues the amendments on copyright “pose a serious threat to the UK’s potential to lead in AI”, and rush the proper process for scrutinising the issue. It asks for time and attention to be given to reach a meaningful solution. The signatories call on Parliamentarians to follow the Government’s necessary consultation process, which they agree is undermined by the Data Bill debate.
The letter and signatories in full
Dear Secretary of State,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a generational opportunity to grow the economy, cement the UK’s strategic advantage in science and technology and reshape the delivery of public services for the better. British-based companies, researchers and institutions are already creating and using AI tools to make scientific breakthroughs, build businesses, improve health outcomes, enhance creativity and make people’s lives easier.
Since coming to power, this Government has taken decisive actions to ensure Britain can lead the world in the development of new AI technologies. The publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out the laudable ambition for the UK to be an “AI maker, not an AI taker,” and provides a solid blueprint for a thriving ecosystem of AI developers and users.
We welcome the Government’s intention to follow the consultation process and to consider the impact of any proposals before developing legislative solutions. Unfortunately, amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill proposed in the Lords threaten to undermine that process.
Tabled before the Government had an opportunity to review submissions to the consultation intended to help develop viable proposals for copyright reform, these amendments pose a serious threat to the UK’s potential to lead in AI. We appreciate that some Parliamentarians feel strongly about these issues, but hurried decision making of this kind will not deliver a sustainable outcome for British businesses seeking to develop and deploy innovative new AI services.
The debate around AI and copyright is complex. Navigating that complexity is not helped by legislation that sidelines the considered perspectives of those who are directly driving innovation in Britain’s AI ecosystem.
As founders of and investors in British companies that are leading the charge to keep Britain at the forefront of the global AI industry, we ask that you urge Members of Parliament and Peers to reject these amendments and instead explore workable proposals that stand up to scrutiny.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Lord Tarassenko – Founder and Director, Oxehealth
Professor Alison Noble CBE – Founder, Intelligent Ultrasound
Sir John Michael Brady – Founder, Perspectum; Founder, Optellum; Director, Naitive Technologies; Founder, ScreenPoint Medical; CEO, Oxford Community Diagnostics Centre
Professor Niki Trigoni – Founder and Chief Science Officer, Navenio
Professor Paul Newman – Founder, CTO and President, Oxa Autonomy
Mark Girolami – Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Cambridge
Rodolfo Rosini – Co-Founder, Vaire Computing
Stephen Roberts – Co-Founder, Mind Foundry
Michael A. Osborne – Co-Founder, Mind Foundry
Professor Philip Torr – Co-Founder, Director and Chief Technologist, Aistetic
William Briggs – Founder and CEO, Naitive Technologies
Sarah Drinkwater – Solo GP, Common Magic
Jonathan Gilmore – Founder and CEO, DeepFlow
Irina Pafomova – Co-Founder, Zestic AI
Andres Guadamuz – Reader in Intellectual Property Law, University of Sussex
John Spindler – Founder, Twin Path Ventures
Michael Slade –Founder, Retainit
Sam Bose – Founder and CEO, IntelliSense.io
Oliver Cameron – Co-Founder and CEO, Odyssey
Jeff Hawke – Co-Founder and CTO, Odyssey
Alasdair Thong – Head of Sovereign Innovation, Alloy Therapeutics
Notes to editors
About The Entrepreneurs Network
The Entrepreneurs Network is a think tank for Britain’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. We bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and policymakers, with the aim of making Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business. We have a network of over 10,000 entrepreneurs and are the Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship, which sits across the House of Commons and House of Lords.
For more information
Philip Salter – Founder of The Entrepreneurs Network – 07919355290 – philip@tenentrepreneurs.org