From Factory Acts to AI: Minister Calls for Stronger Laws for a New Technological Age
Kanishka Narayan, the UK Minister for Artificial Intelligence, opened his speech at Imperial College this week with an interesting historical analogy. Two centuries ago, industrialisation was transforming Britain. New technologies created wealth and extraordinary economic progress, but they also imposed heavy costs. Children worked in appalling conditions and early attempts at regulation were largely ineffective. The state eventually responded with the Factory Act of 1833 and, crucially, with a new institution to enforce it: the factory inspectorate.
