Yesterday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a £14 billion plan to establish Britain as a leading global centre for artificial intelligence (AI). The government's initiative aims to use AI to boost economic growth and deliver public services more efficiently.
Sian John, CTO of NCC Group said:
“The Government’s AI investment plans announced yesterday will boost the UK’s position as a global leader in AI innovation, however, the associated security risks that sit alongside the opportunities must be considered.
“With these AI opportunities come increased risks, especially in areas like education and healthcare, where sensitive data will be stored and processed by AI systems. It’s important that the Government and businesses alike understand that this data may become a prime target for cyber attackers. AI developments mean that we must stay resilient and prepared for emerging threats which can also leverage AI-driven tools to make social engineering scams more convincing.
“The announcement is a reminder that we must act now to bring government, regulators, and industry together to create a safe and secure AI landscape to improve efficiencies across sectors. UK-specific regulations and proactive measures will be key to managing AI's rapid evolution, and we must ensure users are fully equipped to manage these risks.
“AI systems can present several risks related to bias. These include the potential for AI-based products to operate as 'black box' appliances, making it difficult to understand and explain their decision-making processes. This lack of transparency can lead to biased outcomes if the algorithms or training data are flawed. To mitigate these risks, organisations must be transparent about the algorithms they use and the sources of their training data. They should also outline how the AI makes decisions, what factors it considers, and any biases it may have. Organisations should implement processes to minimise and mitigate risks, including human oversight and toxicity / bias assessments, to ensure that AI technologies supplement rather than replace human decision-making and do not perpetuate bias.
"Developing the right cybersecurity skills to keep up with technological advancements and evolving regulations will be a challenge, but one that with effective collaboration and the right skills can be executed. Expertise in AI model security, ethical governance, and regulatory enforcement will be critical to securing this fast-changing environment."
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