UK AISI Rebrand Highlights a Missed Chance to Champion Global AI Solutions, Says Center for Data Innovation

LONDON—In response to the announcement that the UK government has renamed the UK AI Safety Institute to the UK AI Security Institute, with a renewed focus on national security, the Center for Data Innovation issued the following statement from Ayesha Bhatti, Head of Digital Policy, UK & EU:

The UK’s announcement is a missed opportunity. The government should have transformed the AI Safety Institute into the ‘AI Solutions Institute’—a global hub for best practices in implementing AI, which would have made a greater impact on AI progress than doubling down on the Institute’s focus on narrow AI risk.

The previous government championed AI safety, but the Paris AI Action Summit raised doubts about the AI Safety Institute’s relevance as countries like China, France, and the United States focus more on accelerating AI adoption.

But rebranding the Institute—whether under the banner of “safety” or “security”—achieves little. The main announcement is that the Institute will no longer commit to considering issues like reducing bias or disinformation, but its focus has always been primarily on extreme risks, like biological weapons and cyber threats.

Rather than revitalise the mandate of the Institute, the government has only brought more attention to its limited relevance, and, in turn, the relevance of Britain as a global player in the AI game.

Contact: Nicole Hinojosa, [email protected]