Priorities for Generative AI Regulation in the UK: CREATe response to the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF)

In July 2023 the UK Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) issued a request for comment on the status of generative AI and priority regulatory concerns. The DRCF is comprised of four of the UK’s major regulators: the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom. As a research centre with a focus on technology regulation and evidence-based policy making, CREATe is undertaking research that addresses the specific questions raised by the DRCF. As we lay out in our response, the challenges posed by generative AI will be complex, imposing a need for regulators to actively engage with evidence on these dynamic and multifaceted effects. 

This response addresses key questions raised by the DRCF. Notably, the anticipated direction of travel of innovation of GenAI in the near term, an assessment of what citizens and consumers are currently doing with GenAI, how regulated services are making use of GenAI, what gaps in regulation currently exist, and how future regulation can be balanced with competition, innovation, consumer wellbeing and people’s rights and freedoms.

We suggest that addressing these issues requires an interdisciplinary approach. Regulatory responses will need to be cross-domain, adaptable, and scalable to confront these multi-faceted challenges. Research which takes a holistic view incorporating various legal and policy domains can contribute to supporting cross-domain regulatory initiatives.