During her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Theresa May announced plans for a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to regulate artificial intelligence.

Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive Officer of innovation foundation Nesta, comments:

"We welcome the announcement of new initiatives around AI, and the creation of a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. Nesta has been active in this field - as an investor, through research and through practical projects using AI. Two years ago we set out a road map for creating a new institution to guide AI (A machine intelligence commission for the UK) - similar to what has been announced today. The government's announcement strikes the right balance between encouraging innovation and imagination on the one hand, and attending to ethics and the public interest on the other. The lesson of history - and of technologies like GM crops and nuclear - is that if you don't attend to questions of ethics and public interest you don't get to reap the full potential of emerging technologies."