Billions of pounds will be invested in Britain's computing capacity, bringing artificial intelligence “mainlining into the veins” of the country, ministers have announced, despite widespread public concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence.
Keir Starmer has set out a radical action plan to increase AI computing power under public control 20 times by 2030 and deploy AI for everything from finding potholes to freeing up teachers. We are planning to launch.
Labour's plan to 'unleash' AI includes the Prime Minister's personal pledge to make the UK a 'world leader' in the sector, which has been transformed by a series of significant advances over the past three years. . The government's plans include potentially controversial plans to free up public data to foster the growth of AI businesses.
Ministers believe AI could tackle Britain's weak economic growth and deliver an economic boost of up to £470bn over the next decade, according to their own forecasts.
The action plan marks a shift from the UK government's previous focus on tackling the most serious problems. “Frontier” risk Concerning the risks from AI, including cybersecurity, disinformation, and bioweapons.
Starmer said “the AI industry needs governments on its side” and technology companies including Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI welcomed the plan. Regulators will be asked to “actively support innovation,” potentially putting them at odds with those who believe their primary role is to protect the public from harm.
But experts on the impact of AI on society, jobs and the environment urged caution. According to , the three words the average person most associates with AI are “robot,” “scary,” and “worry.” government research last month.
The prime minister also aims to accelerate investment in new small nuclear reactors to boost energy-intensive technology.
Susie Alegre, a barrister specializing in technology and human rights, cited the Post Office scandal as “a reminder of the dangers of relying too much on technology without the resources for effective accountability.”
She said: “Any plans for Britain's AI future need to look at the real-world implications for people and the planet, and we can't hide from uncomfortable truths.”
Mr Starmer told all his cabinet members to make the introduction of AI a top priority, saying: “Artificial intelligence will bring about incredible changes to our country. From helping teachers personalize lessons to supporting record-keeping for small businesses to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to change the lives of working people. , the AI industry needs an ally in government that won't stand by and miss opportunities. In a world of fierce competition, we must not remain silent. We must move quickly to win the global race. We must act and take action.”
According to , the US currently leads the world in AI, surpassing China and far ahead of the UK in third place. Ranking by Stanford University.
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg caused a stir last week by relaxing social media's hate speech guidelines. Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation Peter Kyle insisted on Sunday that any “illegal content” will be removed in the UK. But activists such as the Molly Rose Foundation, named after Molly Russell, who committed suicide after viewing harmful content online, have called for UK laws to be strengthened to prevent preventable harm.
Under the 50-point AI action plan, an area of Oxfordshire close to the UK Atomic Energy Authority headquarters in Culham will be designated as the first AI growth zone. Data center planning plans will be brought forward quickly as the government seeks to reposition the UK as a place where it believes AI innovators can build multi-trillion pound companies. Additional zones, yet to be named, will be created in “deindustrialized areas of the country with access to electricity.”
Multi-billion pound deals are to be signed to build new public 'computing' capacity, including the microchips, processing units, memory and cables that physically enable AI. There will also be a new “supercomputer” that the government boasts has enough AI power to play chess 500,000 times a second.
Ada Lovelace Institute issues warning, calls for “roadmap to address widespread AI harm” and stresses that AI pilots in the public sector “will impact people in the real world” did.
Gaia Marcus, director of the institute, said she wanted to know “how Whitehall can safely introduce these systems and move them forward rapidly” to maintain public trust.
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The government has confirmed efforts to collect data held by the public sector into a new national data library to “support AI research and innovation”. He did not say what data would be released to private companies, but said it would be done “responsibly, safely and ethically.”
About six months ago, Kyle asked British tech investor Matt Clifford to create an action plan for the AI opportunity. At the time, the government said AI could boost economic productivity by 1.5% a year if workers became more efficient. However, there are also concerns that there could be widespread job losses, particularly across administrative professions and financial, legal and corporate management roles.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle will accelerate investment in energy sources such as renewable energy and small modular nuclear reactors, which are being pioneered to fuel energy-hungry AI systems. To this end, he plans to lead a new AI Energy Council. Campaigners around the world are raising concerns about the safety of the technology. concerns This means that more radioactive waste could be generated.
Increases in overall computing power will cost taxpayers billions of pounds over the next five years, the Guardian understands. Further funding details will be revealed in the 2025 Spending Review. The investment is in addition to the £14bn announced by private companies to build vast data centers in locations such as Loughton, Essex, and the site of a former car engine factory in south Wales.
The news comes after reports that Rachel Reeves is considering significant cuts to public services in a bid to shore up the government's finances. The Prime Minister has told ministers to be “ruthless” in finding areas where savings can be made, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Alan Mack, shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said: “Labour's plans will not support Britain to become a technology and science superpower.” They are implementing analog government in a digital age.
“Shaping a successful AI future requires investment, but in the six months leading up to this plan, Labor cut funding for the UK’s first next-generation supercomputer and AI research by £1.3 billion, while simultaneously We imposed a national insurance employment tax that hurts British businesses.'' The digital sector received £1.66 billion.
“AI certainly has the potential to transform public services, but Labour’s economic mismanagement and uninspiring plans will mean the UK will be left behind.”
The push to increase the UK's public AI hardware capacity could make access to cloud computing as important to the UK's economy, society and security as access to the internet, electricity, oil and gas. This is being done as experts believe that there is.
“Losing access to reliable computers could be as devastating as the impact of the loss of broadband and electrical infrastructure across the country today.” report This was announced by Demo and the British Day One think tank. “This is an economic and national security issue,” the report said.
A small number of companies provide much of the world's cloud computing, and there is a growing push to build up “sovereign” capacity controlled by nation-states.
