UK delays AI regulation to align with the Trump administration

The UK government is reportedly stalling its plans to regulate the budding AI industry as its ministers opt to align their approach with the US President Donald Trump’s administration.

According to three Labour sources cited by The Guardian, the UK’s long-awaited AI bill which was initially scheduled for publication in December last year – before Christmas, will not be seen in Parliament until after summer. This also comes as the US Vice President has criticized plans to regulate the AI industry in Europe while the UK also sided with the US in rejecting the AI safety manual in Paris.

UK took the US’ side on AI communiqué

The Guardian reports that the bill in question was intended to be the government’s answer to concerns that AI models may become too powerful and be a huge risk to humanity . These were different from other proposals to clarify how AI firms can use copyrighted material.

The ministers wanted to publish a short bill a few months after entering office and this would require firms to hand over large AI models like ChatGPT for testing by the UK’s AI Security Institute.

However, Trump’s re-election back into office for the second time has forced the UK to think twice before proceeding with their initial plan.

A senior labour source told The Guardian that the bill was “properly in the background” and that there were still “no hard proposals in terms of what the legislation looks like.”

“They said let’s try and get it done before Christmas – now it’s summer,”

said the source.

According to The Guardian, another Labour source briefed on the legislation revealed that a draft of the bill had been prepared months ago but was now up in the air because of President Trump’s influence, as ministers showed reluctance to take action that could weaken the UK’s attractiveness to AI firms.

President Trump has already thwarted plans by his predecessor Joe Biden for regulating AI and revoked an executive order on making the AI tech safe and trustworthy. Now, the future of the Biden-founded US AI Safety Institute remains uncertain after its director also stepped down.

During the recently held AI summit in Paris, US Vice President JD Vance criticized Europe’s planned regulation of AI technology.

The UK also sided with the US in refusing to sign the Paris declaration that was endorsed by 66 other countries including China and India.

UK’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson has reportedly drafted proposals to make the UK the main hub for US AI investment.

UK government says they are still consulting to perfect the bill

While speaking to the Committee in December, the science and technology secretary insinuated the AI bill was at an advanced stage of completion. However, science minister Patrick Vallance earlier this month told MPs that “there is no bill at the moment.”

A government spokesperson indicated engagements were still ongoing about the bill as well as pushing to ensure a bill that speaks to its people in a safe manner.

“This government remains committed to bringing forward legislation which allows us to safely realize the enormous benefits of AI for years to come.”

Government spokesperson.

“As you would expect, we are continuing to engage extensively to refine our proposals and will launch a public consultation in due course to ensure our approach is future-proofed and effective against this fast-evolving technology,” said the spokesperson, adding that the government remains committed to AI legislation.

According to The Guardian, UK ministers are now under immense pressure over separate plans to allow AI companies to draw on online material including creative work to train their models without needing copyright permission.

This comes as artists like Paul McCartney and Elton John are against the move, and have warned that this would allow firms to “ride roughshod over the traditional copyright laws that protect artists’ livelihood.

Some writers have also sued Facebook’s parent company Meta, which is being sued by a group of authors alleging the social media giant used their books and copyrighted material to train its AI models.

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