Two recent events should dramatically alter thinking and decision-making about the use of overseas AI models in the UK's critical national infrastructure, argues a new white paper from the University of Surrey. First, the U.S. government has demonstrated that its powerful AI models can be withdrawn from service by government dictate.
Second, frontier AI is becoming increasingly important to attackers and defenders of digital networks. Together, these changes represent a threat to the UK's ability to protect its networks, and its critical national infrastructure in particular.
The white paper argues that a tipping point is being reached and that governments around the world need to consider sovereign control of increasingly powerful AI systems. Competing head-to-head with the U.S. and China is all but impossible because of these countries' investment of capital, infrastructure and talent. This paper suggests more realistic ways to retain the freedom of action necessary to protect the UK's interests.
Five key recommendations are set out by Professor Alan Woodward from the Surrey Centre for Cyber Security and Dr. Andrew Rogoyski of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI. All five recommendations in their paper are:
