BIA submission to the science and technology committee's inquiry on the governance of AI

The BIA has responded to the Science and technology select commitee's inquiry on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI).

In our submission, we highlighted that:

• There are a variety of applications of AI in the life sciences, from basic research planning through to medical diagnostics.
• Uses of AI in the life science sector which may impact patient safety are currently regulated by the MHRA.
• Any use of personal data is subject to several layers of information governance and data regulation.
• More guidance is needed to make it clear which technologies fall under the existing MHRA regulation. Any revised definitions and guidance should take into account the evolving nature of these technologies.
• Sector level regulators should have appropriate in-house expertise and resource to deal with these new technologies. Cross-sector collaboration would ensure some level of cross-sectoral standardisation.
• The review and scrutiny of decisions made by AI should be considered based on risk. Appropriate explainability and human oversight should be built into the use of AI.
• The BIA agrees with the Government’s sector-level, risk-based approach to regulating the use of AI, providing sufficient expertise and resource are available to provide robust oversight. The BIA advocates this approach for regulation in the life sciences to foster innovation.