Liz Kendall launches £500m AI fund but admits she doesn't use AI at work

AI minister Liz Kendall says she doesn't use AI at work

Liz Kendall, the cabinet minister in charge of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has revealed she does not use AI in her job. The Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary this week unveiled a £500m fund aimed at backing British AI firms, which she said was "crucial to our national security and economic prosperity". But speaking to me in an AI-powered driverless car, in an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live and Newsnight, Kendall said she only uses the technology in her private life, including after having an allergic reaction to face cream. A year ago her predecessor, Peter Kyle, unveiled a set of government tools powered by AI, named "Humphrey" after the scheming official from the classic BBC sitcom Yes, Minister. "No one should be wasting time on something AI can do quicker and better," he said at the time. However, his cabinet colleagues are less keen. "Well, I use AI personally rather than at work, I've got to be honest," Kendall said. "I'm much more likely to use it in my personal life." Government officials, though, were expected to use it. Kendall said that when she was at the Department for Work and Pensions, staff in job centres were using AI to rewrite CVs for jobseekers, and it could also be used to summarise responses to government consultations. The New Statesman recently reported that "British laws are already being written by AI" but claimed it had been decided not to make the use public. Kendall rejected the claim, saying: "It's certainly not written any of my laws that we're doing around social media and online safety." Explaining how she had used AI recently, the Labour MP said: "Do you want to know the last thing I used it for?... I can't believe I'm about to say this... I got an allergic reaction to something. I'd put on some probably expensive and pointless potion I had to pay to put on my face. "I got AI to go through the ingredients of all the products. Because you know there's so many of them really, to identify was there one that was common between the three, and to suggest something I could put on to stop this eczema that had come up. "I checked the sources, it came from the National Eczema Society, I went to the pharmacist, I asked her for her best cream, she named the same one, I bought it, it worked." The government's Sovereign AI unit is a venture capital fund that will invest in British AI companies, backed by £500m of public funding. The driverless car demonstration, by the UK firm Wayve, was designed to highlight the potential the minister sees in AI-powered tech. However, there are also concerns about the impact on jobs. Last year, there were 123,000 people with taxi or private hire vehicle licences in London, and 381,000 across England. They could be put under threat by driverless cars. Kendall said: "I think we've got to level with people that, you know, jobs will be created, jobs will change, some jobs will go, but new ones will take their place. "I really understand why people are worried about the impact on jobs. We're offering 10 million people in the workforce, that's our goal, free AI skills because we think that's really important for the future. "But I believe that it's probably likely to be a combination isn't it, people will still want to drive." Some have raised concerns about the threats posed by AI. A YouGov poll last year found 75% of Britons are concerned AI could pose a threat to humanity. Asked if she had any worries about the technology, Kendall said: "No, I think that how it is developing is safe. We obviously have to think through the implications for jobs." She added: "I'm not an engineer or a computer scientist, I am a historian and you can see from previous industrial and technological revolutions each time this sort of transition in the jobs, some lost, new ones created. "The key question for me is: what is government's role? "And our belief is we shouldn't just leave people to cope with this inevitable jobs transition on their own. We need to upskill the nation." * Matt Chorley is on BBC Radio 5 Live weekdays from 2pm, and BBC2's Newsnight on Fridays from 10.30pm. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

Liz Kendall urges UK public to embrace AI as government makes first £500m fund investment

Technology secretary plays down fears over jobs and cyber security as stake taken in British startup The UK technology secretary has urged the country to "make AI work for Britain", brushing off fears about its impact on jobs and cybersecurity as the government announced its first investment under a £500m sovereign AI fund. Liz Kendall said the UK had to "seize" the opportunity offered by AI despite concerns underlined this month when US startup Anthropic revealed it had developed an AI model that posed a potentially significant cyber threat. Asked how the government makes the case for embracing a technology that could disrupt jobs and now cybersecurity, Kendall said: "We have to seize this to make it work, for Britain, for our jobs, for solving the biggest challenges we face as a world." Speaking on Thursday as the government unveiled its first investment in a UK company as part of a £500m sovereign AI fund, Kendall acknowledged "people are worried about the risks and what it means for their jobs", but AI entrepreneurs also believed they can "make it work ... they can create jobs". In January Kendall admitted "some jobs will go" as AI automates certain tasks and roles, but it would also create new employment opportunities. The government announced on Thursday it had taken an undisclosed shareholding in London-based Callosum, a company that helps different types of computer chips work together efficiently to train and operate AI models. It has also taken a stake in an as-yet-unnamed second business. Six UK companies will also receive access to a network of government-funded supercomputers to help them develop AI models in exchange for "a right of first refusal" to invest in some of those firms. The value of that supercomputer access counts towards the £500m fund. The startups using that extra compute capacity include Prima Mente, which is building "biological foundation models" to tackle diseases like Alzheimer's; Cursive, a company developing autonomous AI agents founded by Google DeepMind alumni; and Odyssey, which develops 'world models', an approach to AI where systems interact with a convincing simulation of the real world. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said that by supporting national AI champions, the UK could ensure that internationally competitive companies can "start, scale and stay here in Britain". The sovereign AI unit, designed to act like a venture capital fund, was launched officially on Thursday at the London offices of Wayve, a self-driving car startup now worth $8.6bn (£6.4bn). Danyal Akarca, co-founder of Callosum, said the UK was the "natural place" to build his company due to its strong university talent and private AI labs like DeepMind.