The UK Government has recently announced their plans to launch a new platform to provide AI assurance services. With a recent increase in various countries creating and implementing AI regulations, such as the EU AI act it is more important than ever for companies to make sure their AI software is up to the standards set by different regulations. Some of these regulations require companies to be able to measure, evaluate and communicate the trustworthiness of their AI systems. Moreover, there appears to be an ever-increasing consumer demand for trustworthiness assurances for AI services.
The UK is looking to capitalise on this need for AI assurance and establish itself as a leading market for such services. A step towards achieving this is the new AI platform, which will help companies “navigate (various) international standards on AI assurance”.
Currently, there are an estimated 524 firms supplying AI assurance goods and services in the UK, who are generating an estimated £1.01bn. This makes the UK’s AI assurance market bigger relative to its economic activity than those in the US, Germany and France. Moreover, it is predicted that this market will grow six-fold over the next decade to around £6bn and that the overall UK AI market will grow to over $1 trillion (USD) by 2035. Accordingly, we are expecting a lot of innovation in this area over the coming years.
To support such growth in the UK, the new AI assurance platform is designed to provide businesses with a one-stop shop for assurance tools, services, frameworks and practices. There will also be a self-assessment tool, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises to implement “responsible AI management practices in their organisations and make better decisions as they develop and use AI systems”. There are also plans for additional funding to stimulate the AI assurance ecosystem. The idea is that this will drive further demand, increase trusted third-party supply, and support international interoperability for AI assurance services.
It is clear that the UK wants to be a leader in AI safety and has the potential to be so. There is therefore a golden opportunity for companies and individuals to innovate in this area. Innovations in areas such as AI assurance, where transparency and disclosure are often required making it more difficult to protect these innovations with secrecy, may find particular benefit in patent protection. As such, we expect increased patent filings in the AI assurance sector and are ready to assist our clients, big or small, with such matters.
