Keir Starmer has announced plans to 'turbocharge' the UK's use of AI, with dedicated 'AI Growth Zones', as the Government stresses its importance in 'spotting potholes and helping improve roads'.
The prime minister said he was throwing 'the full weight of Whitehall' behind the AI industry by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his AI Opportunities Action Plan.
He noted that AI infrastructure 'can transform the lives of working people – it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get Britain building, and feed through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads'.
The Government's plan includes:
- forging new AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire
- increasing the public computing capacity by twentyfold to give us the processing power we need to fully embrace this new technology – this starts immediately with work starting on a brand new supercomputer
- a new team will be set up to seize the opportunities of AI and build the UK’s sovereign capabilities
- creating 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 – this will directly support the Government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower by tapping into technologies like small modular reactors.
Mr Starmer has written to his whole Cabinet, tasking them with driving AI adoption and growth in their sectors.
He said: 'Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. 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.'
Government officials briefed the media that the overall strategy 'has three main pillars that will lay the foundations for AI to grow, boost adoption in existing private and public sectors, and keep the UK ahead of the pack internationally'.
Three pillars to AI Growth
Pillar one: foundations for growth and investment
The first pillar is about laying the foundations for AI to flourish in the UK and includes the development of the AI Growth Zones, where planning approvals for the rapid build-out of data centres will be accelerated.
The first of these in Culham, Oxfordshire will also serve a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy like fusion?can power our AI ambitions, the Government said.
More areas could be unveiled this summer, 'with a particular focus on de-industrialised areas of the country with access to power and strong support from local government'.
Second – boosting adoption across public and private sectors
The Government pledged to establish a new 'digital centre of government' within the Department of Science Innovation and Technology.
'This will revolutionise how AI is used in the public sector to improve citizens' lives and make government more efficient. It will scan for new ideas, pilot them in public sector settings, then scale them as far as they can go,' officials at the department said.
Third – keeping us ahead of the pack
A new team will be set up to keep us at the forefront of emerging technology. This team will use the heft of the state to make the UK the best place for business. This could include guaranteeing firms access to data and energy.
The news comes as three major tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – have committed to £14bn 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 International Monetary Fund estimates that if AI is fully embraced it can boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year, which would be worth up to an average £47bn to the UK each year over a decade.
