Don’t be afraid of AI, says government’s new chief scientific advisor

Experts must ensure the public doesn’t become anxious about artificial intelligence like they are GM crops, the government’s new Chief Scientific Advisor has warned.

Professor Dame Angela McLean said she is an ‘AI optimist’ but that public acceptability of new technologies is ‘very important’.

She was quizzed on her thoughts regarding AI at a Science, Innovation and Technology committee.

When asked about the first global summit on AI, which the UK will host later this year, she said: ‘One of the things that I really hope will be on the agenda – as well as the very technical things – is that there will be a discussion about public acceptability because I think that’s very important.

‘Remember what happened with GM crops? Let’s not do that again.’

When asked about the first global summit on AI, which the UK will host later this year, she said: ‘Remember what happened with GM crops? Let’s not do that again’

The farming of genetically modified crops has hugely increased since their introduction to consumers in the mid-1990s.

However, public perception has been plagued by concerns over safety, with worries over health risks, effects on the environment and what could come of tampering with nature.

Concerns could stem from the fact that the capabilities of AI are ‘developing very fast’, Dame Angela said.

‘I think the thing that is making many people feel a bit anxious is the sense of surprise from people who built the most recent generation of AI models of how capable they are,’ she said.

‘And that’s a bit different from what we normally expect from engineers.

‘We normally expect an engineer to build a thing and then know exactly what it’s going to be able to do or not do.

‘So I think that has caused, rightly, pause for thought. So I think this is a good moment for us to have a focus on safety.

‘I’m very keen that it should not be at the cost of delivery and exploitation.’

Despite concerns, she said she remains an ‘AI optimist’, adding that making sure artificial intelligence works well for the public and inside government ‘will occupy us all for the rest of our lives’.

‘I think AI is an absolutely fundamental underpinning technology,’ she added. ‘I think it’s quite hard for all of us to grasp how much it’s going to go on changing our lives.

‘Sometimes you just have to stop and think how much it’s already changed our lives. Tonnes of things that used to be difficult are just very straightforward now.

‘And I think, frankly, it’s only just begun. I think our lives will change in lots of ways, most of them for the better.’