header-logo header-logo

31 January 2025 / Ian McDougall
Issue: 8102 / Categories: Features , Profession , Artificial intelligence , Technology , Regulatory
printer mail-detail

The AI emperor has no clothes

205938
Is sheer panic & confusion driving the push to regulate artificial intelligence? Ian McDougall highlights the folly of legislating for something that doesn’t exist
  • Despite the rush to push through legislation specifically designed to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), the bulk of issues raised pre-date the development of AI, and are therefore already covered by existing legislation.

Firstly, I acknowledge that this article has come too late to influence the topic. The horse has bolted, the train has left the station, and the diva is already singing. Nonetheless, I still feel I should put these thoughts on the record. Sometimes being a lone voice is lonely, but I am patient. The points I am about to raise are as inevitable as they are frustrating.

So, with that lengthy and cryptic introduction, I shall give you the conclusion first, and then explain why. The conclusion: I am not convinced that there is a need for any artificial intelligence (AI)-specific regulation. It causes more confusion than any problem it seeks to solve. Existing law already covers the area, and

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
back-to-top-scroll