The UK government has published a Roadmap on AI Assurance with a focus on the need for AI systems are developed and deployed responsibly and in compliance with the law.

Z/Yen has led thinking on the development of thinking on ethical computing and AI for some time, including working alongside the British Computer Society in 2010 on a report "Ethics in the Provision and Use of IT for Business".

More recently Z/Yen’s Chairman, Professor Michael Mainelli, launched the Lord Mayor’s Ethical AI Initiative when he served as Lord Mayor of London in 2023-24.

One part of the initiative was the Walbrook AI QI Accord, promoting the use of the ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Artificial Intelligence – Management System, which led to AI Quality Infrastructure being established in Barcelona. Z/Yen, the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS), and the British Standards Institute (BSI) have grown the AI QI Consortium to encompass 200 organisations spanning nearly 70 countries.

A further part of the initiative was the development of a course in ethical AI - “Delivering Ethics Courses For AI Deployers & Builders”. The widely franchised course is burgeoning with the course offered as part of professional training by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, the Law Society, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the British Computer Society, the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries, and the ACCA.

Welcoming the government’s publication of its Trusted third-party AI assurance roadmap, and the development of standards for AI assurance, Professor Michael Mainelli, Chairman of Z/Yen, said:

“AI has the potential to bring great benefits, if used well. We have had a longstanding interest in the ethical deployment of technology, including AI, and we are pleased that the government has recognised the importance of high quality AI assurance.”

ENDS