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Valeria Adani, Partner at Projects by IF, distills one of
technology’s most vexing paradoxes into ten words.
This, one of her favorite quotes, cuts to the heart of our
relationship with artificial intelligence as it hurtles into
uncharted territory, leaving everyone – users, businesses and
regulators alike – scrambling to keep pace.
Businesses face an uncomfortable question: how do you procure
and deploy a technology when the rulebook is still being
drafted?
Regulators face another: how do you oversee something that
reinvents itself monthly?
On 10 March 2026, the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) convened its second Responsible AI Forum
in London. Regulators, technology firms, academics and civil
society representatives gathered to wrestle with these questions.
What follows are the practical lessons for senior leadership teams
and general counsel seeking to navigate this shifting
landscape.
The DRCF launched in 2020 as a voluntary forum, to ensure a
greater level of cooperation between regulators, given the unique
challenges posed by regulation of online platforms. It brings
together four UK regulators with responsibilities for digital
oversight: the Competition and Markets Authority; the Financial
Conduct Authority; the Information Commissioner’s Office; and
Ofcom.
Key takeaways
Here are our key takeaways for senior leadership teams and
general counsel from the day:
Regulation isn’t what it used to be
Keynote speaker, Kenneth Cukier, a journalist at The Economist
and co-author of Big Data, argued that we must “reimagine
responsibility.” Should regulators move from ‘do no
harm’ (“too simple” a standard for AI, he thinks) to
a positive duty of care?
Regulation is hard, he concedes, but AI demands fundamental
change to our ways of thinking.
The implications for businesses are clear: engage proactively
with regulators, perhaps through sandbox initiatives, and be
prepared to reshape business models if necessary.
This event confirmed a broader shift we’ve observed. Many
regulators increasingly care a bit less about technical compliance
with detailed rules and far more about outcomes. And while
businesses wait for prescriptive guidance, standards are filling
the gaps. Sheldon Mills, who is currently conducting a
consultation on how AI will reshape retail financial services,
suggested that “voluntary standards will probably take on a
role” too.
Given the pace of AI development, businesses should expect this
approach to continue and be ready for regulation, in whatever form
it takes, to scrutinise wider societal harms. Getting involved in
those bigger conversations now is prudent.
Responsible AI: a quick reminder
The UK hasn’t created a single AI regulator. Instead,
it’s asking existing bodies (the FCA, Ofcom, the ICO and
others) to police AI within their own patches.
Five principles currently sit at the heart of this approach:
- safety, security and robustness;
- transparency and explainability;
- fairness;
- accountability and governance; and
- contestability and redress.
Each regulator interprets the principles for its own remit. The
government’s wager? Allow AI to flourish while guarding human
rights, democratic norms and the rule of law.
The hope is that flexibility spurs growth without strangling new
technology in red tape.
The danger is that problems slip through the cracks between
regulators. At the event, Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s CEO and
DRCF chair, acknowledged this and said that regulators want to
“build up the muscle fibre of working together.”
Whether this arrangement should eventually rest on a statutory
footing remains an open question. For now, businesses should
recognise that coordination between regulators is still finding its
feet, and gaps may emerge as each body applies the framework
differently.
Getting the timing right
What should businesses do?
Firstly, don’t wait: if you’re looking to use AI in your
business, but are drumming your fingers and waiting for a clearer
or more settled regulatory regime for AI in the UK, don’t.
You’ll likely be waiting longer than you think. And you might
miss the proverbial boat.
But don’t rush either: a typical meme on LinkedIn, with
pictures of CEOs, COOs, CTOs and other members of the C-suite
wielding placards, goes as follows: “What do we want?”
“AI!” “Why do we want it?” “We don’t
know!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” For
this group, there’s no strategy beyond FOMO (fear of missing
out).
The key for businesses is to find the balance between not
progressing quickly enough versus progressing too quickly.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good, but don’t go
‘all in’ without even a second thought. The sweet spot is a
measured and strategic approach.
Fostering trust
If the day had a word cloud, ‘trust’ would loom largest.
Trust is the glue holding this together: without it, AI will simply
gather dust as expensive shelfware.
The Future @ Work 2026 report, published by
Lewis Silkin in January 2026, noted that cultural resistance
(including fear of job losses, mistrust of AI outputs) remains a
key obstacle to adoption.
Speakers throughout the day confirmed this dynamic. How much
human oversight AI products require will vary case by case, but
getting that balance right is essential for building
confidence.
Leadership
Tim Gordon, Partner at Best Practice AI, reminded the audience
that AI “will be at the heart of every business model”
and it isn’t just something that needs to be discussed at, say,
a quarterly meeting. It’s moving from a compliance issue
“to a general management issue”.
Leadership will have to ask hard questions, as Adani says, like
“is AI behaving like it should behave?” It’s
everyone’s responsibility in the business to keep a keen eye on
AI, not just the IT team.
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