13th January 2025

UK aims to be "AI superpower"

The UK government has unveiled a plan for using AI to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently. Sir Keir Starmer told reporters that AI "will drive incredible change" and pledged to make the UK a world leader in the technology.

The UK government has today published the AI Opportunities Action Plan, a comprehensive programme that aims to accelerate the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). If successful, this could dramatically boost productivity and generate as much as £47 billion for the UK each year over a decade.

The report is backed by leading tech firms, who have already committed £14 billion towards various projects. It contains 50 recommendations to boost the UK's role in developing and deploying AI, all of which have been endorsed by Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said the technology will drive "incredible change in our country".

The sweeping plan calls for a 20-fold increase in the amount of AI computing power under public control by 2030. Last year, Labour scrapped £1.3 billion in funding pledged by the previous Conservative government for technology and AI – including the UK's first exascale supercomputer – which would have been housed at Edinburgh University, Scotland. The new plan announced today has revived this proposal, at a location to be decided.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan also introduces the creation of AI "growth zones" to streamline the development of data centres essential for research and applications in the AI sector. These zones will offer simplified planning processes and improved access to energy resources, addressing previous regulatory hurdles that have impeded AI infrastructure projects. The first of these zones is planned for Culham, Oxfordshire. More will be announced in the summer, with a particular focus on de‑industrialised areas of the country with access to clean power and strong support from local government.

The plan proposes the establishment of a National Data Library, incorporating anonymised NHS patient data, to ensure that researchers and innovators have access to new data. This initiative aims to balance the advancement of medical research with protection of individual privacy rights.

In addition, international partnerships will be forged with like-minded countries to increase the types of compute capability available to researchers and catalyse research collaborations. The plan will focus on building arrangements with key allies, as well as expanding collaboration with existing partners.

"Today, Britain is the third largest AI market in the world," said Peter Kyle, the UK's Science and Technology Secretary. "We are home to an extraordinary array of global talent and pioneering AI firms like Google DeepMind, ARM, and Wayve. But despite our record of scientific discovery – from Alan Turing on algorithms and general-purpose computing to Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web – the UK risks falling behind the advances in artificial intelligence made in the USA and China.

"In this next phase of AI development, we want Britain to step up; to shape the AI revolution, rather than wait to see how it shapes us. Because we believe Britain has a particular responsibility to provide global leadership in fairly and effectively seizing the opportunities of AI."

"Artificial Intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation," says Prime Minister Starmer in a forward to the report. "It is not a technology that is coming; a future revolution on the horizon. It is already here, materially changing lives – preventing illness in our NHS, creating exciting new companies in our economy, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery in our universities. It will turbocharge every mission in this Government's Plan for Change. And the potential for further innovation is vast.

"AI-powered scans can help doctors detect disease earlier. AI can cut NHS waiting lists by scheduling better appointments. It allows teachers to personalise their lessons to their children's needs. It can support small businesses with their record-keeping, spot potholes more quickly, and help speed up planning applications. Indeed, right across our public services it offers frontline staff the precious gift of time. A chance to reconnect with the human, face-to-face aspects of their job, which I know is something that attracts so many people to public service in the first place.

"In short, in the coming years, there is barely an aspect of our society that will remain untouched by this force of change. But this Government will not sit back passively and wait for change to come. It is our responsibility to harness it and make it work for working people. And it is our responsibility to make sure that Britain maintains its position as a world-leader in AI, even as the competition increases. Some countries are going to make AI breakthroughs and export them to the world. Other countries will be left to buy those breakthroughs by importing them. This Action Plan sets out how Britain will be the former – a plan to make our country an AI superpower."

During a press conference, in which he responded to concerns about Labour's handling of the UK economy, Starmer explained that AI "is going to change things quicker than we think. Most people who, only a few years ago, were saying it would probably take a decade before AI makes the sort of changes that have been talked about are now saying no, more like five years – even four or three. So AI is changing things very, very fast."

Comments »

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it: