Prime Minister plans to boost AI across the UK to boost growth

The government is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) across the UK to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently.

The AI ​​Opportunities Action Plan being announced on Monday will be backed by major tech companies, who are said to have contributed £14 billion to various projects, which will create 13,250 jobs.

This includes plans for development areas where development will be focused, and technology will be used to help tackle issues such as potholes.

“I want to make sure it benefits every person from every background, it benefits every community in every part of the UK,” Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC.

Last summer, the government tasked AI consultant Matt Clifford with creating a UK action plan for artificial intelligence.

He came back with 50 recommendations and now all of them are being implemented.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said AI would “bring about incredible change” to the country and “has the potential to transform the lives of working people”.

“Our plan will make Britain a world leader,” Sir Keir said.

Kyle told the BBC there was no reason why the UK couldn’t create tech companies on the same scale as Google, Amazon and Apple.

“At the moment, we don’t have any leading-edge, cutting-edge British-owned companies. We have DeepMind, which started in Britain but is now American-owned,” he said.

“Now we want to put all the ingredients in place that will enable that kind of innovation and investment in the UK.”

DeepMind created technology that enables computers to play video and board games.

It was founded by three University College London students before being acquired by Google.

Using data from the International Monetary Fund, the government estimates that full adoption of AI could save the UK an average of £47 billion per year over a decade.

Tech companies Vantage Data Centres, Enscale and Kindrail have contributed £14 billion to building relevant AI infrastructure in the UK.

This is in addition to the £25bn AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.

Vantage Data Centers is working on building one of Europe’s largest data center campuses in Wales.

Kindril will create 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years, creating a new tech hub.

Enscale has signed a contract to build an AI data center in Loughton, Essex by 2026.

The government says “AI growth zones” will be set up across the UK with accelerated planning proposals to build new infrastructure.

The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire and more will be announced this summer, focusing on non-industrial areas.

“I want to find parts of the country where there is a real need for future jobs as the jobs of the past have already begun to decline and want to use the fact that those areas often have very good grid connections that can supply There is currently a surplus of energy,” Kyle said.

Other parts of the plan include a new national data library to securely secure public data and an AI Energy Council led by Kyle and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband that will focus on the energy demands of the technology.

The Conservatives said the government’s plans “will not help Britain become a technology and science superpower”.

Accusing them of cutting £1.3 billion in funding for “the UK’s first next generation supercomputer and AI research”, Shadow Science Secretary Alan Mak said Labor was “delivering analogue government in the digital age”.

“AI has the potential to transform public services, but Labour’s economic mismanagement and uninspired planning will mean Britain will be left behind,” he said.

But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “AI is a powerful tool that will help our economy grow, make our public services more efficient and open up new opportunities to help improve standards of living.”