During a recent interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Professor Gina Neff of Queen Mary University of London and Chair of Responsible Ai UK, outlined the UK government’s plan for new AI regulatory sandboxes, inspired by the Financial Conduct Authority’s pioneering approach to fintech innovation.
Her message was simple, but important:
Sandboxes aren’t about bending the rules.
They’re about testing safely - proving what works before scale.
That idea changed financial services once.
Now it’s about to do the same for AI.
From Fintech to AI: A Proven Model for Safe Experimentation
When the FCA launched its original sandbox in 2016, it changed the relationship between innovation and regulation.
For the first time, startups and established firms could test new financial technologies in a controlled, supervised environment - using real data and customers, under the regulator’s oversight.
The outcome was transformative.
The UK became a global leader in fintech, not because it moved fast and broke things, but because it built an environment where innovation could be proven safely.
That same thinking now underpins the AI sandboxes being developed for high-risk use cases - from healthcare diagnostics to infrastructure planning. Instead of approving technology after it’s deployed, regulators are creating environments where they can learn with innovators before products go live.
A Shift from Rule-Setting to Co-Development
The UK’s approach signals a fundamental mindset change:
Regulation and innovation no longer sit on opposite sides of the table.
In AI, that shift matters. Models are moving faster than policies can adapt, and risk is often discovered only after deployment.
Sandboxes close that gap - letting teams test safely, generate evidence, and identify issues early enough to fix them.
This isn’t about loosening standards. It’s about modernising them - making regulation interactive rather than reactive
Why It Matters to Enterprises
Across the market, every enterprise is feeling the same pressure:
move faster on AI, without taking blind risks.
The sandbox gives organisations a practical way to balance those forces.
It allows them to:
- Test vendors and AI models using synthetic or anonymised data
- Measure performance, compliance, and resilience under real-world conditions
- Generate evidence regulators and boards can trust
It’s how innovation moves from intent to readiness - safely, quickly, and at scale.
What We’re Seeing at NayaOne
At NayaOne, we’ve seen this evolution up close through our work with the FCA and partners across the financial and technology sectors.
Enterprises use our secure sandbox environments, synthetic data libraries, and vendor validation frameworks to test new technologies in production-like conditions - without exposing live systems.
We’re seeing a clear shift across the industry:
the conversation is no longer about whether innovation should be regulated, but how it should be tested.
Sandboxes are becoming the common ground where innovators, enterprises, and regulators can build confidence together.
Building Trust Before Scale
The UK’s fintech leadership was built on collaboration between industry and regulation.
Applying that same model to AI could define the next decade of responsible technology delivery.
Because progress doesn’t just come from new ideas.
It comes from creating the right environments - where innovation can prove itself safely, before it reaches the world.
Want to explore how your organisation can safely test AI and emerging technologies before deployment?
Discover how NayaOne’s sandbox infrastructure enables responsible innovation by getting in touch!
