What the AI is going on … September to November 2023

September 

ChatGPT gets an update – all seeing, all hearing

OpenAI announced that ChatGPT can now see, hear and speak, as the company rolls out new voice and image capabilities.

October 

Microsoft 365 follows suit with upgrading Co-pilot

Are all those meetings adding up? Fear not, AI assistant Microsoft 365 Co-pilot can now attend meetings for you and report back its conclusions and findings. If this is not enough, it can provide a “snapshot” of the meeting; think a quick recap of the main highlights.

The Law Society’s recommendations on the Government’s AI white paper

The Law Society has highlighted its recommendations that were made in response to the Government’s white paper on AI regulation in June 2023. The Law Society stated that it believes there to be a need for further clarity on legislation, procurement practices and how discrepancies across sectors will be mitigated.

November 

UK AI summit – too many cooks?

Nick Clegg, speaking on behalf of Meta, voiced his concerns over how confusing the global approach to AI was becoming. He highlighted the new UN panel, the publishment of a G7 Code, Biden’s US executive order, the UK summit conclusions and that the EU was continuing to work on a new AI Act. It simply, in his view, does not fit together. Governments and regulators need to focus on key definitions that will help shape AI governance.

AI regulation – who will come out on top?

The UK, EU and US have all adopted different approaches when it comes to regulating AI, with the UK taking a more “hands off approach” when compared to its European neighbours and our friends across the pond. All three have announced plans to open an “institute” or “office” to oversee AI. The UK’s “institute” will “independently and externally evaluate, monitor and test” AI models, whereas the others will act as a regulator and play a part in determining future regulations. 

Grok launch – Elon’s At It again. 

Elon Musk’s xAI has released its first AI model, named Grok, which has “real-time access” to information from his social media platform X. This access, according to Musk, gives the chatbot an edge over competitors that have largely relied on older archives of internet data.

OpenAI plans to launch custom versions of ChatGPT – an “app store” like never before. 

Called GPTs, the apps will be adapted and tailored for specific applications, turning the chatbot interface into a digital platform similar to iOS and Android. The Microsoft-backed AI company plans to collate the best apps and eventually split revenues with the most popular GPT creators.

The Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill is introduced – if you won’t regulate, we will. 

A Private Members’ Bill, the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill (AIRB), was introduced in the House of Lords on 22 November to create an AI Authority, which would collaborate with relevant regulators to construct “regulatory sandboxes for AI” and consult on as well as monitor other regulatory frameworks. The AIRB also affords the Secretary of State the power to add other functions to the AI Authority’s remit.

If passed, in its current form, the AIRB would require any business which develops, deploys and/or uses AI to appoint an AI Officer to ensure the: 

• safe, ethical, unbiased and non-discriminatory use of AI
• data used by the business in any AI technology is unbiased, as far as reasonably practicable.

AI leaves white collar workers feeling exposed.

The Department for Education has published a report, “The impact of AI on UK jobs and training”, which looks into the jobs and industries it expects will most likely be “exposed” to AI. The report states professional occupations are most exposed to AI, with manual work and those typically associated with lower wages being the least exposed. In particular, the report states that the finance and insurance sector have the highest exposure to AI than any other sector, with law and accountancy trailing not too far behind. The report focuses on “exposure” and not on whether AI will enhance or replace jobs, stating AI is expected to complement most jobs and industries – so all hope is not lost (just yet).

Winter 2023