UK government sets out plans to turbocharge AI use
Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the UK to deliver a decade of national renewal under a new plan announced by the government.
The Prime Minister has agreed to take forward all 50 recommendations set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan released last year, in a plan to make the UK ‘irresistible’ to AI firms looking to start, scale, or grow their business.
The government says that backing AI to the hilt can lead to more money in the pockets of working people. It also says it can revolutionize public services.
New measures will create dedicated AI Growth Zones that speed up planning permission and give them the energy connections they need to power up AI. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire with others set to be announced in the summer.
This is an interesting approach from a government that says it wants a closer relationship with the EU, since Brussels looks set to take a more restrictive regulatory approach with the EU AI Act. An EU code of practice for AI models is expected to be agreed this year.
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says:
Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.
But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won't sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.
Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change. That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people’s pockets, and transformed public services.
Three major tech companies -- Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl -- have committed to £14 billion ($17 billion) of investment in the UK to build the AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK.
The plans include building a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second -- well, even supercomputers need a hobby! This is part of the plan to increase compute capacity by twenty-fold by 2030.
There will of course be new quangos too. A new team will be set up to seize the opportunities of AI and build the UK's sovereign capabilities. There are plans to set up a new National Data Library to safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development. A dedicated AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries will also be established, working with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges which will fuel the technology's development.
Industry figures have welcomed the moves, Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK, says:
The scale of this Government's ambition for AI development and adoption in the UK is exactly what's needed to drive economic growth, transform public services and create new opportunities for all.
Maintaining the UK's position as a global leader in AI demands innovation and investment across the public and private sectors and Microsoft is fully committed to helping make this vision a reality.
You can read more about the AI Action Plan on the government site.
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