Remarks made by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle at the Munich Security Conference

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle spoke about the the UK’s approach to the responsible development of artificial intelligence at the Munich Security Conference.

Innovation is defined by its ability to surprise.

Only a few years ago, GPT-2 meant nothing to the public.

For many of us, AI felt like a distant possibility at best.

Something that would never – could never - live up to the hype.

And yet, overnight, ChatGPT became a household name.

It unleashed an unprecedented wave of technological change. 

And the pace of progress shows no signs of slowing down.

With DeepSeek, we’ve just seen once again just how sudden, how unpredictable, innovation can be.

In the UK, we reject the doomsayers and the pessimists.

Because we are optimistic about the extraordinary potential of this technology.

And hopeful for the radical, far-reaching change it will bring.

We launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan to put us on the front foot.

Working in collaboration with our international partners, we’re going to create one of the biggest clusters of AI innovation in the world and deliver a new era of prosperity and wealth creation for our country.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

If we can seize it, we will close the door on a decade of slow growth and stagnant productivity.

We will deliver new jobs that put more money in working people’s pockets.

And we will drive forward a digital revolution inside government to make our state smaller, smarter, and more efficient.

But none of that is possible unless we can mitigate its risks that AI presents.

After all, businesses will only use these technologies if they can trust them.

Security and innovation go hand in hand.

AI is a powerful tool and powerful tools can be misused.

State-sponsored hackers are using AI to write malicious code and identify system vulnerabilities, increasing the sophistication and efficiency of their attacks.

Criminals are using AI deepfakes to assist in fraud, breaching security by impersonating officials.