Rosalie Brown leads tech policy at TheCityUK, the industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services. She works with experts from across the industry, regulators and the government to collectively shape a policy environment that supports technology adoption and innovation.

We talk to Rosalie about her view on the AI policy landscape in the UK, how TheCityUK will continue to shape AI policy and how she’d like to see AI policy develop.

What's your view on AI policy landscape in the UK? What’s working and what could be improved?

Well, firstly, you can’t talk about AI and financial services without discussing regulation. The UK’s pro-innovation, sectoral approach to regulating AI is welcome and creates a strong foundation for enabling growth sectors to harness the full potential of these technologies in various contexts. 

I also support financial services regulators' efforts to implement this by regulating these technologies within existing frameworks, rather than creating new AI-specific rules. It’s positive that the UK isn’t taking a prescriptive approach like the EU AI Act. However, the international landscape is very fragmented, and to avoid complex and onerous compliance burdens, many global firms will need to apply the ‘highest watermark’ set by other international regulators, limiting any adoption gains from an agile UK approach. It’s vital that the UK leverages its position internationally to influence global standards and develop common AI principles.

Beyond regulation, it’s vital that UK policy addresses the AI skills gaps. The Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC) reports a 35% gap between AI skills demand and supply across financial services – and we are a tech-forward industry! Based on a number of recent announcements and initiatives, the government is taking this issue seriously, and the FSSC is doing lots of great work in this space, including developing a financial services AI skills compact. However, we need to ensure AI skills and literacy are accessible to everyone across the UK. Effective policy will be key to ensure that people are brought along on the AI journey and avoid deepening existing inequalities.

What’s your view on the UK AI Opportunities Action Plan?

Overall, the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan contains many positive recommendations and sets an ambitious and welcome direction for the UK. However, it’s important to note that the EU has published its AI Continent Action Plan, while the Trump administration recently released 'America’s AI Action Plan'. All of these action plans set out individual jurisdictions’ ambitions to be global leaders in AI. The UK plan is targeted and credible, but it’s a competitive race and will come down to delivering AI adoption, innovation and infrastructure at pace. At the same time, AI in the UK is currently largely reliant on US firms, which underscores the importance of international alignment and long-term investment in domestic capability.

What role do you see for TheCityUK in continuing to shape AI policy in the UK?

TheCityUK plays a leading role in championing the success of the financial and related professional services ecosystem, promoting policies in the UK and internationally that drive competitiveness, support job creation and enable long-term economic growth. Securing the UK’s position as a global leader in the use of AI is integral to this mission and a priority for our organisation.

There are a number of complexities in AI regulation for financial services that require close and ongoing collaboration between regulators, policymakers and industry to find solutions and share emerging best practices. This is key to ensure the industry can harness the full potential of these technologies while managing the risks and avoiding burdensome or complex compliance that would ultimately harm UK competitiveness and economic growth. 

As the policy landscape evolves from high-level principles to detailed implementation, TheCityUK will play a central role in shaping a regulatory environment that is agile, proportionate, and internationally coherent. Through thought leadership, industry coordination, and constructive engagement with government and regulators, we aim to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of responsible AI adoption across our industry.

In your view, what's next for AI policy – where and how would you like to see it develop?

What’s next? Who really knows! It’s still unclear whether the government will introduce legislation targeting frontier AI models in the near future, but there will likely be a growing emphasis on third-party assurance to verify the trustworthiness of AI systems.

Over the next few years, we will move from embedding the UK's AI principles into more mature regulatory approaches across different sectors. This needs to be supported by stronger coordination between regulators and progress on technical standards.

As global discussions mature, the UK will also need to navigate the balance between maintaining its bespoke, pro-innovation framework and aligning with international approaches. Overall, I hope we will continue to see policy that gives firms the confidence, clarity, and capability to scale AI responsibly.

I’d like to see a more cohesive global approach and policy that drives greater trust and understanding of AI across our society. Beyond what I’ve already mentioned, I believe it’s essential we make more progress on the environmental sustainability of AI. To date, environmental considerations have been largely absent from mainstream AI policy discussions. The government’s AI Energy Council is a good starting point, but I would like to see our AI ambitions matched by commitments to develop greener, more energy-efficient AI systems.