On Wednesday 23 October, PICTFOR held a Welcome Reception for new MPs in the Churchill Room, House of Commons. The reception was hosted by our Co-Chair Samantha Niblett MP. Speakers included:
- Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety;
- Saqib Bhatti MP, Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology;
- Victoria Collins MP, Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Science, Innovation and Technology.
- Gina Neff, Professor of Responsible AI at Queen Mary University of London and the Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy.
- Stephen Tulip, UK Country Manager, ACT | The App Association
PICTFOR Co-Chair Samantha Niblett MP opened the proceedings by welcoming attendees, with special consideration for the many new MPs in attendance. She outlined the exciting times the tech sector finds itself in and referred to the importance of sharing the innovation and growth created by the sector across the country. She also highlighted the exciting potential of many of the innovations in the sector, (including AI). She then introduced Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety.
Baroness Jones welcomed the large number of new MPs. She emphasised the number of new MPs coming into Parliament from all parties who have a huge amount of expertise and enthusiasm for tech issues, and noted how the Government must ensure that they properly harness this talent.
Baroness Jones praised the tech sector as one of Britain’s biggest economic success stories, as the largest in Europe, and noted that the Government’s challenge is to ensure that they build on that and make the most of it. She told attendees that the Government recognised that they cannot afford to be complacent.
Baroness Jones also touched on the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology’s three priorities; firstly, to accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class research and development. Secondly, to ensure new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with benefits more widely shared. And finally, to drive a modern digital government, giving citizens a more satisfying lived experience and time back to do all the things they would enjoy doing if they weren’t online.
Baroness Jones explained that the Government’s legislative agenda will help to drive those priorities forward. She explained that the new Data Bill will ensure that the power of data is harnessed for economic growth to support modern digital government and to improve people’s lives, mentioning that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK cyber defences, ensuring that the critical infrastructure is available for digital services and that we can rely on them being secure. She added that the Government will soon be consulting on proposals to place requirements on the developers of the most powerful artificial intelligence models, ensuring that the UK is prepared to embrace that fast-moving technology.
Finally, Baroness Jones highlighted the importance of skills to deliver these priorities. She referenced the Government’s plans to improve access to and update physical skills training across the pipeline – from children in schools to adults who want to change careers later in life – through Skills England and the new Skills Levy. She told the audience of the Government’s plans to commission an independent review of the school’s curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of the modern world.
The following speaker, Shadow Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Saqib Bhatti MP, emphasised to the PICTFOR audience the importance of collaboration among industry, academia, and government to tackle challenges in the tech sector, particularly regarding AI and geopolitical uncertainties. He highlighted the need for domestic support for supply chains, citing the UK’s largest compound semiconductor clusters in South Wales and Edinburgh.
He added that digital inclusion is a priority, referencing the previous Government’s work on a new strategy. He told the audience that addressing economic uncertainty through limiting regulation and encouraging investment was an important way to address economic uncertainty to reduce digital exclusion.
The Shadow Minister also stressed the necessity of making tech investment accessible and the potential for economic growth through tech, noting the success of tech companies in the UK so far. The role of entrepreneurs and the need for the correct use of technology to harness its benefits was also underscored.
Victoria Collins MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology, opened by affirming the Liberal Democrats’ ambition to be a constructive opposition, with the ability to be a strong voice on this issue, due to their increased number of MPs. PICTFOR provided the perfect forum for productive conversation, she acknowledged, with its variety of organisations and members.
The Liberal Democrat Spokesperson set out the Liberal Democrats’ priorities, which include being a strong voice to advocate for growth of the sector. She added that it was important to scale the impact of growth, given the potential positive impact the tech sector could have, and she recognised the duty to ensure the impact remained positive.
Victoria Collins went on to set out her three priorities as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson – firstly, unlocking growth with the correct guardrails. She advocated for no company to be left behind and told the audience that British companies should be supported as they grow. Secondly, she emphasised the importance of protecting the nuances of online trust and safety, digital mental health and tech consumers. Finally, she stressed the need to invest in skills, R&D funding and infrastructure.
The Shadow Spokesperson ended by reaffirming her belief that good technology is good business, and that stakeholders across the industry and Parliament should continue working together through forums like PICTFOR.
Gina Neff, Professor of Responsible AI at Queen Mary University of London and the Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, opened her comments by recognising the value of hosting a wide variety of attendees from across the tech sector and Parliament.
Professor Neff emphasised that as we adopt new tech, we are changing how we live our lives, how we work, and how we connect with societies and communities. She stressed that PICTFOR and its members must get this transition right for people and businesses in the UK. She told the audience that we must make sure that government supports workers to upskill, so that we have the skills to be able to power the future economy. Additionally, she explained that we must build the capacity of small and medium enterprises, so that we can use these tools and technologies and that the benefits help, rather than harm. She emphasised that parliamentarians and industry must work together to make sure this transition is fair. Professor Neff highlighted that those whose work is managed and monitored by AI need to be protected from mistakes, and must have a right to challenge those mistakes in the workplace. She added that we must make sure that our digital and AI systems are accountable to the public and that they work for public benefit.
Finally, Professor Neff called on the Government to allow civil society organisations and academics to use their expertise to assist in the transition of society to a tech-centred world.
Stephen Tulip, UK Country Manager, ACT | The App Association opened by telling the gathered new MPs about the work of PICTFOR and the App Association, fostering productive dialogue between the tech sector and policymakers, promoting a policy environment that fosters responsible regulation, whilst also promoting responsible regulation and fostering innovation.
He emphasised the importance of supporting small and medium enterprises in the tech sector and removing unnecessary barriers to international digital trade. Increasing regulatory scrutiny can have a larger impact on smaller businesses, who then face unreasonable costs to meet requirements, and are essential to the innovation and growth of the tech sector, he said. Barriers to using new technology and increasing regulation mean we must ensure the voices of SME’s are heard and consulted.
Touching on AI, he said that startups are using AI to transform operations in really exciting ways. He called on regulators to ensure that AI regulation is risk-based, ensuring it does not prevent small businesses from using AI to produce innovative products and solutions.
Many thanks to members for their contributions.
This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this report are those of the group.