UK Government Unveils Ambitious AI Action Plan to Boost Economy and Productivity

UK government reveals masterplan to "unleash AI" and make it a world leader

Prime Minister addresses safety concerns, but doesn't want the UK to 'fall behind' The UK Government has laid out plans to push AI into all corners of British industry with a multi-billion pound investment. The Labour Government plans to 'unleash' AI and make the UK a 'world leader' by accepting £14 billion in private sector investment, and has revealed a 50 point plan that will see AI 'mainlines into the veins' of public services. This includes a plan to 'unlock' public data by handing it over to 'researchers and innovators', including anonymized NHS data, which will be made available to train AI models. The government says there will be "strong privacy-preserving safeguards" and the data would never be owned by private companies. The plans will also look to free up time for public sector workers by allowing AI to undertake admin tasks, and will introduce 'AI Growth Zones' which will speed up AI infrastructure, rapidly building data centers and giving them better access to the energy grid - despite environmental concerns. Private sector investment comes primarily from Vantage Data Centres, a firm which plans to invest £12 billion in data centre development, which will create over 11,500 jobs in the process. Also investing are Nscale and Kyndryl, two leading digital companies who plan to help roll out AI into Britain's economy. ''The UK Government's AI Opportunities Action Plan will play an important role in helping the UK to unlock the full potential of AI," said Alison Kay, Vice President, UK and Ireland at Amazon Web Services "By putting close industry collaboration and public-private partnership at the heart of the Government's agenda, every citizen, community and business in every region of the UK will have the opportunity to realise the benefits of AI, and thrive and grow'' The Prime Minister says that AI can 'transform the lives of working people', speeding up planning consultations, driving down admin, and feeding AI through road cameras to help spot potholes - although oddly, my car can spot potholes just fine. Minister Pat McFadden said AI is a 'test and learn' technology, and, "mistakes will be made" with the applications, but wouldn't confirm whether this plan will mean short-term job losses for workers. Addressing objections to the plan, the Minister warned if the UK doesn't develop the technology here, then the country would 'lose out' to other nations in the AI race. In the Prime Minister's speech announcing the news, he acknowledged the anxieties surrounding AI, but affirmed the real danger is in falling behind other nations, noting, "the far bigger risk is we don't go for it," and miss out on 'massive' opportunities. The Prime Minister also outlined the ways in which AI can help make our public services 'more human', primarily referring to healthcare and social work, in the speech. By taking administrative and mundane tasks away from public sector workers, services will be 'more human' by allowing staff to reconnect with patients and those under their care. Starmer promised to "make sure this technology is safe" by building on the previous government's 'world-leading' AI safety institute, promising to uphold and develop safeguarding measures to ensure AI is used safely. "Change on this scale and at this speed can be worrying, especially when experts warn of the safety risks,"the Prime Minister said. Productivity in Britain has been somewhat stagnant for the last 15 years, but by using the full power of AI, the Prime Minister hopes to give the British economy the boost it so desperately needs. That is, of course, if AI can increase efficiency for workers, rather than result in widespread unemployment. Recent research suggests AI could displace up to 275,000 jobs per year at the peak of adoption. Politicians and tech leaders alike have long insisted AI will simply take over the mundane tasks from workers, rather than replace them, but as someone who has worked one of the many jobs entirely made up of 'mundane' tasks, I have to be skeptical.

UK to 'mainline AI in the veins' under new plans from Sir Keir Starmer

The government will be hoping the plans - with promises of billions of pounds and thousands of jobs - can help stymie the claims they are mismanaging the economy and stunting growth in the UK. The government will "mainline AI into the veins" of the UK, with plans being unveiled on Monday by Sir Keir Starmer. The prime minister is set to promise investment, jobs and economic growth due to a boom in the sector. It comes as his government battles against allegations they are mismanaging the economy and stymied growth with the budget last autumn. The government's announcement claims that, if AI is "fully embraced", it could bring £47bn to the economy every year. And it says that £14bn is set to be invested by the private sector, bringing around 13,000 jobs. The majority of those would be construction roles to build new data centres and other infrastructure, with a smaller number of technical jobs once the work is finished. Sir Keir said: "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people. "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." The prime minister added that he wants Britain to be "the world leader" in AI. The government announcement said: "Today's plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation." Read more: UK to 'lose AI leadership' without data strategy How to protect your privacy from AI To achieve this, the government will implement all 50 recommendations made by Matt Clifford following his review last year. This includes creating new AI "growth zones" - the first of which is set to be in Culham, Oxfordshire, where the UK's Atomic Energy Authority is based. These zones will get faster planning decisions and extra power infrastructure. The government also wants to increase UK computing power 20-fold by 2030, including by building a brand-new supercomputer. Labour cancelled a planned supercomputer when it entered office, as it claimed it wasn't funded. The new venture is expected to be a joint public-private project. The government says its plans will have three pillars. This includes laying the foundations with new AI growth zones and the new supercomputer. The second is to boost AI take up by the public and private sectors. New pilots for AI in the public service are set to be announced, and Sir Keir has written to all cabinet ministers, telling them to drive AI adoption and growth. And the third pillar is keeping ahead of the pack, with the government set to establish a "team" to keep the UK "at the forefront of emerging technology". The announcement was welcomed by a slew of technology bosses. 👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam's on your podcast app👈 Chris Lehane, the chief global affairs officer at OpenAI, which released ChatGPT, said: "The government's AI action plan - led by the prime minister and [Science] Secretary Peter Kyle - recognises where AI development is headed and sets the UK on the right path to benefit from its growth. "The UK has an enormous national resource in the talent of its people, institutions and businesses which together, can leverage AI to advance the country's national interest." The shadow secretary for science, innovation and technology, Alan Mak, said: "Labour's plan will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower. They're delivering analogue government in a digital age. "Shaping a successful AI future requires investment, but in the six months leading up to this plan, Labour cut £1.3bn in funding for Britain's first next-generation supercomputer and AI research whilst imposing a national insurance jobs tax that will cost business in the digital sector £1.66bn. "AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind."

UK PM Keir Starmer throws weight of Whitehall behind AI technology

(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer will throw the weight of Whitehall fully behind AI in a bid to boost growth. The prime minister is set to unveil his Government's AI Opportunity Action Plan on Monday as he seeks to make Britain a world leader in the sector. He said: "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." Monday's plan will take forward all 50 recommendations made by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, who was commissioned by Science Secretary Peter Kyle in July to come up with a plan to identify AI opportunities. It will see the government create a series of AI "growth zones", starting in Culham, Oxfordshire, where it will accelerate planning approvals for data centres and improve access to the energy grid. The government has also pledged to increase the UK's compute capacity 20-fold by 2030, including by building a new supercomputer. Even before being asked to formulate the plan, Clifford had called for a significant increase in the UK's computation power as a way of attracting AI investment. The previous government had said it would support an exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, but the plans were shelved shortly after Labour came to power with the government saying the Tories had failed to allocate any money to the project. Construction of a new supercomputer, at a location yet to be decided, is expected to be funded in partnership with the private sector. The government will also create a national data library of public sector data that will be used to train AI models. It is expected that NHS data would be included, with protections such as anonymisation, potentially sparking concern from privacy campaigners. But Kyle told The Times that the government would "always be in control of data" and "never let anybody have free-range access to it". Clifford said: "This is a plan which puts us all-in - backing the potential of AI to grow our economy, improve lives for citizens and make us a global hub for AI investment and innovation." Arguing that embracing AI could boost GDP, ministers hope Monday's announcement will bring some optimism amid headlines warning of sluggish growth, inflation and the rising cost of borrowing. The government is not just hoping to attract AI investment with its action plan, but also spur the adoption of the technology across Whitehall in a bid to improve productivity and cut costs. Starmer has personally written to Cabinet ministers ordering them to make driving AI adoption and growth in their departments a top priority. New teams will be set up to pilot AI in the public sector and keep the UK at the cutting edge of emerging technology. Alexander Iosad, director of government innovation at the Tony Blair Institute, welcomed the plan, saying AI could "help take care of drudgery in the public sector", helping retain more staff who are currently "overwhelmed and overworked". He said: "AI is no longer an if, or even a when; it is here and it is urgent. "The opportunities for Britain's economy and our public services are too great for us to ignore." Ministers have billed the action plan as a sharp change from the approach of the previous government, which they say focused too much on safety and not enough on the opportunities AI provided. Kyle said on Sunday that while safety must be the "first step", and should not be "pitted against economic investment", it had proved to be "the only step" under the Conservatives. Speaking ahead of Monday's launch, he added: "AI has the potential to change all of our lives but for too long we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us. But as well as safety, the government must grapple with competing demands of different sectors such as the creative industries. Artists and media companies have complained that AI developers' use of their material to train programmes such as Chat-GPT has infringed their copyright, and the government is currently consulting on the issue. Monday's plan is also expected to set out the government's approach to building the infrastructure required to develop AI. This includes building more data centres, something the government has appeared to make a real focus for the UK, including by declaring them "critical national infrastructure" in September. In addition, the government will have to address the energy and water needs of the AI industry, with the technology requiring significant amounts of both to operate. Under Monday's plan, Kyle and the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, will chair an AI Energy Council tasked with understanding the demands and challenges AI presents for energy companies. Alongside Monday's announcement, the government revealed tech companies had committed a total of GBP14 billion of investment in AI infrastructure in the UK, expected to create 13,250 jobs. This includes a GBP12 billion commitment from Vantage Data Centres, which is already building one of Europe's largest data centres in Wales, and USD2.5 billion from Nscale, including a contract to build the largest UK sovereign data centre at Loughton, in Essex, by 2026. Shadow science secretary Alan Mak said: "Labour's plan will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower. They're delivering analogue government in a digital age. "Shaping a successful AI future requires investment, but in the six months leading up to this plan, Labour cut GBP1.3 billion in funding for Britain's first next-generation supercomputer and AI research whilst imposing a national insurance jobs tax that will cost business in the digital sector GBP1.66 billion. "AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind." By Christopher McKeon, PA Political Correspondent Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Over 100 AI trials to boost small-business productivity launched in UK

(Alliance News) - Some 120 projects in the UK trialling how artificial intelligence could help small businesses be more productive have been launched by the government in its first wave of initiatives to use the technology to boost the economy. The projects include an AI tool that can predict potholes before they appear, another which can anticipate where mould is likely to grow in buildings and another being trialled at a bakery aimed at cutting food waste. Each of the projects will receive a share of GBP7 million in government funding to help test the AI technology. The projects follow the announcement on Monday of the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan, where the prime minister confirmed the government would accept and take forward all 50 recommendations about boosting the AI sector in the UK made in the action plan by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford. It includes commitments to greatly expand on the compute power and AI infrastructure available in the UK to support the growth of businesses, as well as to more widely adopt the technology in the public sector, while also continuing to work on AI safety and bring forward regulation. The government said the announcement of the 120 projects coming online would help spread AI adoption across the country, with the long-term aim of boosting living standards, creating jobs and helping the economy. Science & Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: "Putting AI to work right across the economy can help businesses cut waste, move faster and be more productive. "The huge range of projects receiving funding today, from farmers and bakers to those tackling potholes on our roads and mould in residential properties, demonstrates the truly limitless benefits of AI that are there for the taking. "And take them we will, with our 50-point AI Opportunities Plan, published yesterday, to unleash AI across the UK, delivering a decade of national renewal and firing up our Plan for Change." Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

How the U.K. Wants to "Turbocharge" AI, Gain up to $57B a Year and "Make Britain the World Leader"

"Most Horrific Fire Since '93": Mark Hamill, Eugene Levy, James Woods and More Flee L.A. Wildfires Artificial intelligence will "be unleashed across the U.K. to deliver a decade of national renewal." At least, that is the vow made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he unveiled a plan that his Labour Party government says will "turbocharge AI" and "deliver a decade of national renewal" by "backing AI to the hilt." Agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford, chairman of talent investor Entrepreneur First, in his "AI Opportunities Action Plan," which he was tasked to draw up last summer, Starmer and his team said on Monday that AI could help with "revolutionizing our public services and putting more money in people's back pockets." Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate, the government emphasized that "if AI is fully embraced and productivity gains are fully realized, this could be worth up to an average £47 billion ($57 billion) to the U.K. each year over a decade." Concluded the government: "Today's plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation - revolutionizing our public services and putting more money in people's back pockets. Because for too long we have allowed blockers to control the public discourse and get in the way of growth in this sector." And it highlighted: "We can learn from the U.S's and EU's approach - delivering the dynamism, flexibility and long-term stability that we know businesses want." New measures in its AI blueprint to "make the U.K. irresistible to AI firms looking to start, scale, or grow their business" include the creation of dedicated AI Growth Zones "that speed up planning permission and give them the energy connections they need to power up AI." The first of these zones will located in England's Culham, Oxfordshire. Other measures include "increasing the public compute capacity by 20-fold to give us the processing power we need to fully embrace this new technology," starting with work on what the government described as "a brand new supercomputer" with enough AI power for it "to play itself at chess half a million times a second." Starmer's government has made technological change a focus as of late, recently also launching a consultation on "plans to give certainty to the creative industries and AI developers on how copyright material can be used to train AI models." Running until Feb. 25, its goal is helping to "drive growth across both sectors by ensuring protection and payment for rights holders and supporting AI developers to innovate responsibly." Last week, the Labour government promised to make "creating sexually explicit deepfake images a criminal offense" as it cracks down on "vile online abuse." Starmer on Monday promised that AI would "drive incredible change in our country," adding: "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." Three technology companies, Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl, on Monday committed to £14 billion (£17 billion) in investments to build out the AI infrastructure in the U.K. and deliver 13,250 jobs, according to the government. This Action Plan is also at the heart of the government's Industrial Strategy and the first plank of the upcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months. Business leaders also touted the U.K. AI push in the government's announcement. "The scale of this government's ambition for AI development and adoption in the U.K. is exactly what's needed to drive economic growth, transform public services, and create new opportunities for all," it quoted Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft U.K., as saying. "Maintaining the U.K.'s position as a global leader in AI demands innovation and investment across the public and private sectors, and Microsoft is fully committed to helping make this vision a reality." Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of generative AI firm Anthropic, in which Amazon is a big investor, added: "The U.K.'s AI Opportunities Action Plan is a bold approach that could help unlock AI's potential to solve real problems." And Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer at AI giant OpenAI, in which Microsoft is a big investor, concluded: "From the locomotive to the Colossus computer, the U.K. has a rich history of leadership in tech innovation and the research and development of AI. ... The U.K. has an enormous national resource in the talent of its people, institutions and businesses which together can leverage AI to advance the country's national interest."

UK Prime Minister to Outline Plans to "Turbocharge" Britain's Future with AI - Decrypt

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to outline a detailed plan on Monday that seeks to establish the UK as a global hub for artificial intelligence. The "AI Opportunities Action Plan" is expected to drive economic growth, enhance public services, and create thousands of new jobs. "Our plan will make Britain the world leader," Starmer said ahead of the announcement. "It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change." The action plan incorporates all 50 proposals from a report submitted last year by Matt Clifford, chair of the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). The UK government estimates that fully embracing AI could boost the economy by £47 billion annually over the next decade, according to the Sunday press release. The plan's three key pillars include building infrastructure, boosting AI adoption, and staying ahead of international competition. Central to the plan is the establishment of AI Growth Zones, with the first to be launched in Culham, Oxfordshire, and others planned for de-industrialized regions. These zones will accelerate the development of essential AI infrastructure, including data centers, with streamlined planning processes and improved energy access. Starmer's administration plans to increase computing power twentyfold by 2030, beginning with the construction of a state-of-the-art supercomputer capable of performing half a million chess games per second. A new National Data Library will be introduced to securely unlock public data, supporting AI advancements, while an AI Energy Council will address the technology's energy demands. The initiative has attracted significant private investment, with Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl committing around £14 billion ($16.9 billion), generating 13,250 jobs. These projects include one of Europe's largest data center campuses in Wales and the development of the UK's largest sovereign AI data center in Essex. This follows the £25 billion ($30 billion) in AI investments announced at last year's International Investment Summit. The AI Opportunities Action Plan also includes an AI Energy Council, which will collaborate with energy companies to address AI's power needs while supporting the UK's clean energy goals. Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country," the UK Prime Minister stated. "From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people."

UK to 'unleash' AI to turbocharge economy

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due Monday to outline an "action plan" to make the UK "the world leader" in artificial intelligence and spark Britain's flagging economy. His Labour administration said AI would be "unleashed" across the whole of the country, with the "full weight" of its half a million strong civil service getting behind the endeavour. "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country," Starmer said in a statement late Sunday. "From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people." Starmer was due to lay out fuller details of Britain's approach to AI technology, which is raising complex questions for governments around the world, during a speech later on Monday. In Sunday's press release ahead of the address, the premier said the AI industry "needs a government that is on their side, one that won't sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers". "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," he insisted. The government's 50 proposals include creating what it calls "dedicated AI growth zones" designed to speed up planning proposals for data centres and other AI infrastructure. It also plans to increase server capacity twentyfold by 2030, including by building "a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second". The government said the proposals would mean the public sector would spend less time "doing admin". It noted that hospitals were already using AI to help diagnose breast cancer quicker and said AI had the potential to spot potholes and help improve roads. Starmer's administration added that AI could be worth GBP47 billion (USD57 billion) to the UK each year over a decade. It announced that three tech companies -- Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl -- had committed to spending USD14 billion on AI in the UK, leading to the creation of more than 13,000 jobs. Starmer has put firing up Britain's economy at the heart of his agenda since taking office last July. But weaker-than-expected growth, rising borrowing costs and a falling pound is complicating his task, meaning he could be forced to make spending cuts or hike taxes this year. Countries are trying to figure out how to harness the benefits of AI while also regulating the technology amid fears that robots could one day outsmart humans if left unchecked. AI is also increasingly being blamed for the spread online of misinformation and deepfake pornography.

Artificial Intelligence: Plan to 'unleash AI' across UK revealed

AI is already being used in UK hospitals for important tasks such as diagnosing cancer more quickly and it will continue to be used to support the NHS. Tech companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl have committed £14bn to build the relevant AI infrastructure in the UK. This is in addition to the £25bn AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit. Vantage Data Centres is working on building one of Europe's largest data centre campuses in Wales. Kyndryl will create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years, forming a new tech hub. Nscale has signed a contract to build an AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, by 2026. The government says "AI Growth Zones" will be set up across the UK, with speedy planning proposals in place to create new infrastructure. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire and more will be announced this summer with a focus on de-industrialised areas. "I want to find parts of the country where there is a real need for the jobs of the future because the jobs of the past have already started to dwindle and utilise the fact that there is often very good grid connections in those areas which can supply an excess of energy currently," Kyle said. Other parts of the plan include a new National Data Library to safely secure public data and an AI Energy Council led by Kyle and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband which will focus on the energy demands of the technology. The Conservatives said the government's plans "will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower". Accusing them of cutting £1.3bn in funding for "Britain's first next-generation supercomputer and AI research", shadow science secretary Alan Mak said Labour was "delivering analogue government in a digital age". "AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind," he added. But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "AI is a powerful tool that will help grow our economy, make our public services more efficient and open up new opportunities to help improve living standards."

'Mainlined into UK's veins': Labour announces huge public rollout of AI

Keir Starmer plans to 'unleash' technology with massive investment and deployment, despite public fears Artificial intelligence will be "mainlined into the veins" of the nation, ministers have announced, with a multibillion-pound investment in the UK's computing capacity despite widespread public fear about the technology's effects. Keir Starmer will launch a sweeping action plan to increase 20-fold the amount of AI computing power under public control by 2030 and deploy AI for everything from spotting potholes to freeing up teachers to teach. Labour's plan to "unleash" AI includes a personal pledge from the prime minister to make Britain "the world leader" in a sector that has been transformed by a series of significant breakthroughs in the last three years. The government plan includes a potentially controversial scheme to unlock public data to help fuel the growth of AI businesses. Ministers believe AI can help tackle Britain's anaemic economic growth and deliver, according to its own forecasts, an economic boost rising to up to £470bn over the next decade. The action plan represents a shift in tone from the UK government which had previously been focused on tackling the most serious "frontier" risks from AI, relating to dangers like cybersecurity, disinformation and bioweapons. Technology companies including Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI welcomed the plan as Starmer said the "AI industry needs a government that is on their side". Regulators will be told to "actively support innovation" setting up a potential clash with people who believe regulators' primary role should be to protect the public from harm. But experts in AI's effects on society, jobs and the environment urged caution. The three words most associated with AI by the public are "robot", "scary" and "worried", according to government research last month. The prime minister is also aiming to accelerate investment in new miniature nuclear reactors as it seeks to power the energy-hungry technology. Susie Alegre, a barrister specialising in technology and human rights, cited the Post Office scandal "as a reminder of the dangers of putting too much faith in technology without the resources for effective accountability". She said: "Any plan for Britain's future with AI needs to look at real world consequences for people and the planet and cannot afford to look away from uncomfortable truths." Starmer has instructed every member of his cabinet to make AI adoption a top priority and said: "Artificial intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people. 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. In a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race." The US currently leads the world in AI, ahead of China which is well ahead of the UK in third place, according to rankings from Stanford University. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, last week caused controversy by loosening guidelines on social media hate speech. On Sunday Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science, technology and innovation, insisted any "illegal content will be taken down" in the UK. But campaigners such as the Molly Rose Foundation, named after Molly Russell, who killed herself after viewing harmful content online, called for tougher UK legislation to prevent preventable harm. Under the 50-point AI action plan an area of Oxfordshire near the headquarters of the UK Atomic Energy Authority at Culham will be designated the first AI growth zone. It will have fast-tracked planning arrangements for data centres as the government seeks to reposition Britain as a place where AI innovators believe they can build trillion-pound companies. Further zones will be created in as-yet-unnamed "de-industrialised areas of the country with access to power". Multibillion-pound contracts will be signed to build the new public "compute" capacity - the microchips, processing units, memory and cabling that physically enable AI. There will also be a new "supercomputer", which the government boasts will have sufficient AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second. Sounding a note of caution, the Ada Lovelace Institute called for "a roadmap for addressing broader AI harms", and stressed that piloting AI in the public sector "will have real-world impacts on people". Gaia Marcus, director of the research institute, said it wanted to know how Whitehall would "implement these systems safely as they move at pace" to maintain public trust. The government confirmed an initiative to gather data held by the public sector in a new National Data Library to "support AI research and innovation". It did not specify what data would be made available to private companies, but said it would be done "responsibly, securely and ethically". Kyle commissioned the British tech investor Matt Clifford to draw up the AI opportunities action plan nearly six months ago. At the time the government cited the possibility of 1.5% a year productivity gain for the economy if AI can increase efficiencies for workers. But there are also fears that it could lead to widespread unemployment, particularly in professional occupations associated with more clerical work and across finance, law and business management roles. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, and the science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle, will lead a new AI energy council to accelerate investment in energy sources including renewables and small modular nuclear reactors, which are being pioneered to fuel energy-hungry AI systems. Worldwide, campaigners have raised safety fears about the technology and there are concerns that they could generate greater quantities of radioactive waste. The overall computing capacity boost will cost taxpayers billions of pounds over the next five years, the Guardian understands. More details of funding are expected in the 2025 spending review. The investment is separate to £14bn announced by private companies to build vast data centres in places like Loughton in Essex and on the site of a former car engine plant in south Wales. Alan Mak, the shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said: "Labour's plan will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower. They're delivering analogue government in a digital age. "Shaping a successful AI future requires investment, but in the six months leading up to this plan, Labour cut £1.3bn in funding for Britain's first next-generation supercomputer and AI research while imposing a national insurance jobs tax that will cost business in the digital sector £1.66bn. "AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind." The push to increase the UK's public AI hardware capacity comes as experts believe that access to cloud compute could become as important for the UK's economy, society and security as access to the internet, electricity or oil and gas. "Losing access to reliable computers could be catastrophic, akin to the impact losing national broadband or electrical infrastructures would have today," a report by the Demos and UK Day One thinktanks has said. "It is a matter of economic and national security", the report said. A handful of companies provide the majority of global cloud compute, increasing the impetus to build "sovereign" capacity controlled by the state.

UK to put 'AI into the veins' of the country under Prime Minister's plan

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to "mainline AI into the veins" of the country with billions worth of investments from private tech firms and the full adoption of a 50-point artificial intelligence action plan. The UK government said on Jan. 13 that it has agreed to implement all 50 recommendations in a report submitted last year by Matt Clifford, Chair of the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). One recommendation was to set up AI Growth Zones, where planning approvals for data centers can be fast-tracked. The plan also includes creating a new supercomputer with enough power to play chess half a million times a second and setting up a new National Data Library with publicly available data to train AI models. The UK's plan comes amid fierce competition in the AI sector, mostly among US tech giants, and mounting scrutiny on the growing resources such as power and water needed to run the technology. Neighboring Ireland has put a halt on new data centers around the Dublin area until 2028, with the country's grid operator saying the computer-filled buildings consumed around a fifth of the country's electricity in 2023. The UK government has also flagged it intends to create a dedicated AI Energy Council to liaise with energy companies and a new government department within the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT). Tech companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl have committed a combined $17 billion (14 billion British pounds) toward investment in building the AI infrastructure. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has instructed every cabinet member to prioritize AI adoption and says the plan will "drive incredible change" in the country's AI industry. "The AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won't sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers." "In a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race," Starmer added. Tech giants, including Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI, welcomed the UK government's plan. Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK, said the scale of the ambition for AI development and adoption in the UK would help drive economic growth. Related: US, EU and UK sign world's first international AI treaty Julian David, CEO of tech industry trade group techUK, said that now the government has a plan, it needs to act "at pace" to remain competitive. According to Stanford University rankings, the US currently leads the world in AI in areas such as research and infrastructure -- China is second while the UK is third. "To drive new investment, Industry will want to see more detail on how this plan will be actioned within the next six months, particularly as we face growing competition from other countries," David said.

Britain's PM unveils AI strategy, vows to rip up red tape hindering AI projects

LONDON -- The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating the technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government's efforts to "turn around the economy" and jump-start lackluster growth. Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become "one of the great AI superpowers" that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology. Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI "growth zones" with "streamlined" building approval process. "So if you're looking at where to build your data centers, we will speed up planning permission if you need better access to power," Starmer said. Britain's complex building permission rules are frequently blamed for preventing development of big projects such as data centers. After taking power in July, Starmer's Labour government vowed to review decisions by local authorities to reject some projects. The government will also stick to its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating AI, which involves giving responsibility to existing industry regulators instead of drawing up a new set of rules like the European Union has done. It will also continue to support of U.K.'s AI Safety Institute, set up under Starmer's Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak to carry out research on the most cutting-edge AI models and the existential but far-off risks they pose. "We will test and understand AI before we regulate it to make sure that when we do it, it's proportionate and grounded in the science," Starmer said.

UK Prime Minister Unveils Plan to Make Britain World Leader in AI

Three tech firms pledge GBP 14 billion in AI infrastructure investment, creating 13,250 jobs. The UK government has announced an AI Opportunities Action Plan aimed at positioning Britain as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). The ambitious initiative, unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on January 13, 2025, promises to revolutionise public services, boost the economy, and create thousands of jobs. Also Read: European Union Says Its AI Investment Is Only 4 Percent Compared to US Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the UK to deliver a decade of national renewal, under the new plan announced. According to the official release, the Prime Minister has agreed to "take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his game-changing AI Opportunities Action Plan." "AI is already being used across the UK. It is being used in hospitals up and down the country to deliver better, faster, and smarter care: spotting pain levels for people who can't speak, diagnosing breast cancer quicker, and getting people discharged quicker. This is already helping deliver the government's mission to build an NHS fit for the future," the UK government stated. Unveiling details of the plan on Monday, the Prime Minister said, "AI can transform the lives of working people - it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get Britain building, help drive down admin for teachers so they can get on with teaching our children, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads." The UK government cited IMF estimates that fully embracing AI could increase productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points annually. If fully realised, these productivity gains could be worth up to GBP 47 billion annually over a decade. Also Read: EU Selects Seven Sites for First AI Factories, Marking EUR 1.5 Billion Investment The plan introduces new measures to create dedicated AI Growth Zones, which will streamline planning permissions and provide the energy connections necessary to power AI. According to the government, the plan has three main pillars that will lay the foundations for AI to grow and boost adoption in existing private and public sectors. The first pillar focuses on laying the foundations for AI to flourish in the UK. The second aims to boost AI adoption across public and private sectors, while the third ensures the UK remains ahead of the competition. The UK government emphasised that it occupies a unique place in the world, and "can learn from the US's and EU's approach." Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stated: "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people." "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," he added. Also Read: Denmark Launches Sovereign AI Supercomputer Gefion with Nvidia Three major tech companies -- Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl -- have committed a combined GBP 14 billion to building the AI infrastructure needed to harness this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK. This is in addition to the GBP 25 billion in investments announced at the International Investment Summit. Vantage Data Centres - which is working to build one of Europe's largest data centre campuses in Wales - plans to invest over GBP 12 billion in data centres across the UK - creating over 11,500 jobs. Kyndryl, an IT infrastructure services provider, announced plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years. This new tech hub will deploy AI across the country to drive economic growth. Nscale, a UK-based AI company, has announced a USD 2.5 billion investment to support the UK's data centre infrastructure over the next three years. The company also signed a contract to build the largest UK sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, Essex by 2026. Also Read: AI Can Be a Game-Changer for Europe's Economic Growth: Report The plan includes initiatives designed to make the UK the top destination for AI investment. Key changes include establishing AI Growth Zones to accelerate planning proposals and expanding AI infrastructure, with the first zone to be located in Culham, Oxfordshire. Another major initiative involves increasing public computing capacity twentyfold to provide the processing power needed to embrace AI. This includes plans for a new supercomputer, with work set to begin immediately. Other measures include forming a dedicated team to build the UK's sovereign AI capabilities, creating a National Data Library to support AI development, and establishing an AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries to advance the UK's goal of becoming a clean energy superpower. The government believes that these 50 measures will collectively make the UK an irresistible hub for AI firms looking to start, scale, or grow their businesses. Also Read: UK Government Expands AI Chatbot Trials to Support Small Businesses Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK, said, "The scale of this government's ambition for AI development and adoption in the UK is exactly what's needed to drive economic growth, transform public services and create new opportunities for all." "Maintaining the UK's position as a global leader in AI demands innovation and investment across the public and private sectors and Microsoft is fully committed to helping make this vision a reality," he added. Mike Beck, Global Chief Information Security Officer at Darktrace, commented, "The ambitious and wide-ranging recommendations in the AI Opportunities Action Plan have the potential to turn AI into an engine for the UK economy." Dario Amodei, Co-Founder and CEO of Anthropic, remarked, "The UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan is a bold approach that could help unlock AI's potential to solve real problems. By combining infrastructure investment with strategic planning, the UK could be among the first and fastest governments in the world to transform how services are delivered to its citizens." Also Read: Google Launches AI Campus in London to Equip Students with Digital Skills Alex Kendall OBE, Co-Founder and CEO of Wayve, said, "We now welcome the new targeted support for international expansion for AI scale-ups, and will pursue our global growth goals with the confidence that we have the UK Government's full support." "The government's AI action plan - led by the Prime Minister and Secretary Peter Kyle - recognises where AI development is headed and sets the UK on the right path to benefit from its growth. The UK has an enormous national resource in the talent of its people, institutions and businesses which together, can leverage AI to advance the country's national interest," added Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer at OpenAI.

Britain wants to become an AI powerhouse. Here's how

The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating the technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government's efforts to "turn around the economy" and jump-start lackluster growth. Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become "one of the great AI superpowers" that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology. Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI "growth zones" with "streamlined" building approval process.

Britain's leader unveils AI strategy, including vow to rip up red tape hindering AI projects

LONDON (AP) -- The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating the technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government's efforts to "turn around the economy" and jump-start lackluster growth. Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become "one of the great AI superpowers" that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology. Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI "growth zones" with "streamlined" building approval process. "So if you're looking at where to build your data centers, we will speed up planning permission if you need better access to power," Starmer said. Britain's complex building permission rules are frequently blamed for preventing development of big projects such as data centers. After taking power in July, Starmer's Labour government vowed to review decisions by local authorities to reject some projects. The government will also stick to its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating AI, which involves giving responsibility to existing industry regulators instead of drawing up a new set of rules like the European Union has done. It will also continue to support of U.K.'s AI Safety Institute, set up under Starmer's Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak to carry out research on the most cutting-edge AI models and the existential but far-off risks they pose. "We will test and understand AI before we regulate it to make sure that when we do it, it's proportionate and grounded in the science," Starmer said.

UK throws its hat into the AI fire | TechCrunch

In 2023, the U.K. made a big song and dance about the need to consider the harms of AI, giving itself a leading role in the wider conversation around AI safety. Now, it's whistling a very different tune: today, the government announced a sweeping plan and a big bet on AI investments to develop what it calls a "decade of national renewal." Included in the so-called "Plan for Change" will be a commitment to invest in AI to speed up public sector services; set up geographic "AI Growth Zones" to greenlight the building of AI infrastructure such as data centres and R&D areas; and a claim that private tech firms have pledged investments of £14 billion ($17 billion) and the creation of 13,250 jobs to meet this goal. There will be more details released later in the day on action items. Some that have already been revealed include naming Culham, Oxfordshire, as the first "AI Growth Zone"; increasing public compute capacity by twentyfold and working on a new supercomputer. There's also a new National Data Library that will be the U.K.'s way to store and use public data for AI development, and a new Energy Council that will consider how to handle the energy demands of AI. The government says its plan is based on 50 recommendations that were laid out previously by Matt Clifford, a venture capitalist who has been advising both the current and previous administrations and published an "AI Opportunities Action Plan" in July 2024 to lay these out. The government today wasted very little time in trying to score a political point by noting that the outgoing government never formally said it would take these recommendations forward, while it is now "backing AI to the hilt". (The proof will be in the pudding, of course.) It's very notable that the words "safety," "harm," "existential" and "threat" are nowhere to be found in the announcement. These are not just terms that have been raised in connection with the full-throttle embrace of AI, but specifically part of the U.K.'s own sceptical regard of the technology in previous times. It's not that these are no longer concerns for anyone, but it seems they are no longer on the agenda for the government to address while it figures out how to profit from AI. "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement today. "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." Ironically, the government notes that U.S. companies including Anthropic and Cohere are among those that have already established operations in the U.K. and have committed to backing the U.K.'s plans. The developments come at a key moment for both technology and politics in the U.K. On the tech side, the country has long been the biggest market for technology investment in Europe, as well as for investment in AI startups specifically. Still, it lags far behind the U.S. on both fronts. A number of sizeable and trailblazing companies have been hatched and grown in the U.K. -- DeepMind, the anchor of Google's AI business, started here; chip giant ARM is British; and there are tens of thousands of startups and research groups doing groundbreaking work. But the country (along with Europe as a whole) is yet to produce a mega-business along the lines of Microsoft, Google or Apple. The belief is that more focus on developing major U.K. hyperscalers will lead not only to helping the U.K. modernize and improve its economy -- a much-needed boost since the country has been teetering on recession for years -- but help the U.K. have more sovereignty in the longer run. Sovereignty seems like a lofty ambition, but it's an important notional bulkhead at this moment. On the side of politics, the country is at a strange crossroads. Starmer, who became Prime Minister last year, has a fractious history with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump studded with insults, and there will be some trepidation right now over how that will play out over the next four years. More directly, Starmer has been embroiled in a tense war of words with one of Trump's chief allies, Elon Musk. Musk does not like Starmer and wants to derail his government, going so far as to accuse the Prime Minister of being "complicit in the rape of Britain" due to the government's response to the issue of grooming gangs, and calling him "utterly despicable," a campaign that Starmer has dismissed as misinformation. The investment community seems to welcome the announcement, though its stance is seemingly guarded at the moment. Simon Murdoch, a managing partner at Episode 1 Ventures, said, "While we welcome this initiative, it will be a marathon not a sprint. It will need regular measurement and course correction to ensure adoption and then provide help to organisations like the NHS and local government to implement AI for their benefit." Another investor, Andrew J Scott, a managing partner at 7percent Ventures, highlighted that there needs to be more cohesion across the government if the mission is to be carried out. "The action plan won't realise its ambition to make the UK a winner in AI unless other policies are aligned across government. If, for example, startup founder's or VC's leave the UK because they are taxed uncompetitively, or the NHS refuses to deploy AI technology because unions fear job losses," he told TechCrunch.

Prime Minister sets out blueprint to turbocharge AI

Artificial intelligence will deliver a decade of national renewal, as part of a new plan announced today (). - AI to drive the Plan for Change, helping turbocharge growth and boost living standards - public sector to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering the services working people rely on - dedicated AI Growth Zones to speed up planning for AI infrastructure - £14 billion and 13,250 jobs committed by private leading tech firms following AI Action Plan Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the to deliver a decade of national renewal, under a new plan announced today (13 January 2025). In a marked move from the previous government's approach, the Prime Minister is throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind this industry by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by in his game-changing AI Opportunities Action Plan. AI is already being used across the . It is being used in hospitals up and down the country to deliver better, faster, and smarter care: spotting pain levels for people who can't speak, diagnosing breast cancer quicker, and getting people discharged quicker. This is already helping deliver the government's mission to build an fit for the future. Unveiling details of the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan today, the Prime Minister will say AI can transform the lives of working people - it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get building, help drive down admin for teachers so they can get on with teaching our children, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads. Backing AI to the hilt can also lead to more money in the pockets of working people. The estimates that - if AI is fully embraced - it can boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year. If fully realised, these gains could be worth up to an average £47 billion to the each year over a decade. Today's plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation - revolutionising our public services and putting more money in people's back pockets. Because for too long we have allowed blockers to control the public discourse and get in the way of growth in this sector. The plan puts an end to that by introducing new measures that will create dedicated AI Growth Zones that speed up planning permission and give them the energy connections they need to power up AI. The occupies a unique place in the world. We can learn from the US's and EU's approach - delivering the dynamism, flexibility and long-term stability that we know businesses want. The Prime Minister, , said: Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people. 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 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 , more money in people's pockets, and transformed public services. That's the change this government is delivering. It comes as three major tech companies - Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and - have committed to £14 billion investment in the to build the AI infrastructure the needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the . That's on top of the £25 billion in AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit. Vantage Data Centres - which is working to build one of largest data centre campuses in - plans to invest over £12 billion in data centres across the - creating over 11,500 jobs in the process. - the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider and a leading IT consultancy - announces plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in over the next three years. This new tech hub will share the Government's ambition to roll AI out across the country to help grow the economy and foster the next generation of talent. Nscale - one of the leading AI companies - has announced a investment to support the data centre infrastructure over the next three years. They have also signed a contract to build the largest sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, by 2026. The plan includes initiatives that will help make the the number one place for AI firms to invest, which is vital if is to be at the forefront of this industry and be a changemaker rather than a change-taker. The key changes include: - forging new AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure. The first of these will be in , - increasing the public compute 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 sovereign capabilities - creating a new to safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development - a dedicated 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. Taken together, the 50 measures will make the irresistible to AI firms looking to start, scale, or grow their business. It builds on recent progress in AI that saw £25 billion of new investment in data centres announced since the government took office last July. This Action Plan is also at the heart of the government's Industrial Strategy and the first plank of the upcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months. Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, said: AI has the potential to change all of our lives but for too long, we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us. With this plan, we become agents of that change. We already have remarkable strengths we can tap into when it comes to AI - building our status as the cradle of computer science and intelligent machines and establishing ourselves as the third largest AI market in the world. This government is determined that the is not left behind in the global race for AI, that's why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today. This is how we're putting our Plan for Change in motion. The Chancellor of the Exchequer MP said: AI is a powerful tool that will help grow our economy, make our public services more efficient and open up new opportunities to help improve living standards. This action plan is the government's modern industrial strategy in action. Attracting AI businesses to the , binging in new investment, creating new jobs and turbocharging our Plan for Change. This means better living standards in every part of the and working people have more money in their pocket. Matt Clifford CBE said: This is a plan which puts us all-in - backing the potential of AI to grow our economy, improve lives for citizens, and make us a global hub for AI investment and innovation. AI offers opportunities we can't let slip through our fingers, and these steps put us on the strongest possible footing to ensure AI delivers in all corners of the country, from building skills and talent to revolutionising our infrastructure and compute power. Notes to editors: The plan has 3 main pillars that will lay the foundations for AI to grow, boost adoption in existing private and public sectors, and keep the ahead of the pack internationally. First - laying the foundations for AI to flourish in the . The first ever AI Growth Zones will be set up. These are areas across the country that will speed up planning approvals for the rapid build-out of data centres, give them better access to the energy grid, and draw in investment from around the world. The first of these will be in , - home to the and some of the brightest scientific minds in the world. This will also serve a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy like fusion can power our AI ambitions. More will be announced in the Summer, with a particular focus on de-industrialised areas of the country with access to power and strong support from local government. That means local jobs, improved communities, and a growing economy - all of which puts more money in people's pockets. Build a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second. This is part of the plan to increase compute capacity by twenty-fold by 2030 - supercharging our capacity to power AI products. Our ten-year compute plan also includes a commitment to rapidly develop and implement a long-term compute strategy that will bring together the key ingredients for AI - compute, data, and skills - to keep us at the forefront of the technology and attract the best brains in the world. That gives the industry the long-term stability it needs to choose the as the place to invest - helping drive up growth and deliver our plan for change. Second - boosting adoption across public and private sectors A new digital centre of government is being set up within DSIT. 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. Driving adoption across all sectors in the . The Prime Minister has personally written to his entire , tasking them with driving AI adoption and growth in their sectors, and making that a top priority for their Departments. 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 the best place for business. This could include guaranteeing firms access to data and energy. Taken together, this package will set us on course to full embrace the potential of AI - making it work for . Industry reaction to the AI Opportunities Action Plan , CEO, Microsoft , said: The scale of this government's ambition for AI development and adoption in the is exactly what's needed to drive economic growth, transform public services and create new opportunities for all. Maintaining the position as a global leader in AI demands innovation and investment across the public and private sectors and Microsoft is fully committed to helping make this vision a reality. , Global Chief Information Security Officer at , said: The ambitious and wide-ranging recommendations in the AI Opportunities Action Plan have the potential to turn AI into an engine for the economy. As a home-grown AI company, we know that the has world-class research talent, brilliant institutions and a strong tech ecosystem. Governments can and should move at a faster pace to help realise the benefits of rapid technological change, and we look forward to the government swiftly implementing this Plan. This will help to turn AI from abstract opportunity to real-world benefit in offices and shop floors across the country. Companies and consumers also need to be confident that AI innovation is safe and secure. The upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill offers the opportunity to better safeguard data and AI infrastructure, and it will be important to ensure a more digitised and AI-enabled public sector is secure and trusted. , Co-Founder and CEO of Anthropic, said: The AI Opportunities Action Plan is a bold approach that could help unlock AI's potential to solve real problems. By combining infrastructure investment with strategic planning, the could be among the first and fastest governments in the world to transform how services are delivered to its citizens. We look forward to working with them to turn this vision into a reality. Alex Kendall OBE, Co-Founder and CEO, Wayve, said: Embodied AI in highly regulated sectors, like automated vehicles, will require international regulatory collaboration. I'm excited to see the government use the levers at its disposal to help make the leading AI startups winners on the global stage. We now welcome the new targeted support for international expansion for AI scale-ups, and will pursue our global growth goals with the confidence that we have the Government's full support. , Chief Global Affairs Officer at OpenAI, said: From the locomotive to the Colossus computer, the has a rich history of leadership in tech innovation and the research and development of AI. The government's AI action plan - led by the Prime Minister and Secretary - recognises where AI development is headed and sets the on the right path to benefit from its growth. The has an enormous national resource in the talent of its people, institutions and businesses which together, can leverage AI to advance the country's national interest. , Co-Founder and CEO of Cohere, said: With AI unlocking productivity gains and boosting business growth, we welcome the government's focus and attention to foster this generational economic transformation. Cohere has long viewed the as a hotbed of industry talent and a market highly supportive of technology innovation, which is why we were among the earliest foundational model companies to build a major presence in the country, and why we have doubled down here over the last year. , Deputy CEO, (UKAEA), said: AI and High-Performance Computing are central to UKAEA's mission to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy. UKAEA welcomes the AI Opportunities Action Plan and its vision for building cutting-edge AI infrastructure to drive innovation and develop the 'industries of the future'. As highlighted in the Action Plan, Culham Campus' high-capacity and connection to the national electricity grid, coupled with its available land on the Campus, positions it as a prime location for deploying substantial computing facilities. Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK, said: Through this announcement the Prime Minister has set out how the Government sees AI as central to their plan for change. These well thought out initiatives will boost the AI capabilities with positive effects across our society and economy. Now that the government has set out its Plan, it is time to act, and at pace. To drive new investment, Industry will want to see more detail on how this plan will be actioned within the next six months, particularly as we face growing competition from other countries. Further Information: - the £47 billion estimate is based on figures but derived from separate calculations and assumptions, and as such, is not an official estimate - estimates from the (IMF) show that while the exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and adoption of AI, and realisation could be gradual, the could ultimately see productivity gains of up to 1.5% annually - if fully realised, these gains could be worth up to an average £47 billion to the each year over a decade - the Vantage Data Centres anticipated investment, some of which is subject to planning permission and agreed connection timelines, is expected to support over 10,000 local construction jobs over the next decade, and create over 1,500 operational roles at its data centres

Britain's Leader Unveils AI Strategy, Including Vow to Rip up Red Tape Hindering AI Projects

LONDON (AP) -- The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating the technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government's efforts to "turn around the economy" and jump-start lackluster growth. Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become "one of the great AI superpowers" that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology. Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI "growth zones" with "streamlined" building approval process. "So if you're looking at where to build your data centers, we will speed up planning permission if you need better access to power," Starmer said. Britain's complex building permission rules are frequently blamed for preventing development of big projects such as data centers. After taking power in July, Starmer's Labour government vowed to review decisions by local authorities to reject some projects. The government will also stick to its "pro-innovation" approach to regulating AI, which involves giving responsibility to existing industry regulators instead of drawing up a new set of rules like the European Union has done. It will also continue to support of U.K.'s AI Safety Institute, set up under Starmer's Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak to carry out research on the most cutting-edge AI models and the existential but far-off risks they pose. "We will test and understand AI before we regulate it to make sure that when we do it, it's proportionate and grounded in the science," Starmer said. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

UK to fast-track data center approvals as part of AI action plan

The government estimates the plan could generate £47 billion in annual economic growth. Amid signs of a stagnating economy, the UK is going all-in on AI. On Monday, British Minister Keir Starmer announced a new . At the center of the initiative are "AI Growth Zones," which the government plans to establish in de-industrialized areas throughout the country. In these areas, the Labour government will fast-track planning approvals for data centers and offer better access to the national energy grid. Starmer said the UK's first AI Growth Zone would be established in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to the country's Atomic Energy Authority. More zones will be announced in the summer. At the same time, Starmer's government plans to increase state-owned compute capacity by a factor of 20, starting with the "immediate" construction of a new supercomputer with "enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second." As of November 2024, the UK has 14 supercomputers on the list, putting it behind -- by a significant margin -- the US and China. Additionally, the plan will see the government establish a National Data Library, which it says will make the country more attractive to investors by allowing private industry to "safely and securely unlock the value of public data." Finally, a new AI Energy Council will work with energy companies to meet the power demands of the AI industry in a way that's in line with the government's clean energy strategy. "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people," Starmer said. "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." Over the next 10 years, Starmer's government estimates that its strategy could generate as much as £47 billion ($57 billion) in annual economic growth. The announcement comes after the UK economy in the third quarter of last year. From that perspective, making the country more attractive to outside investment isn't the worst idea -- especially with companies like Microsoft planning to spend on new data centers this year.

Keir Starmer to set out plan to 'unleash' artificial intelligence across UK to boost growth

"Finally!" is one WhatsApp I received from a contact in the UK AI sector in response to the government's new plan. "They've listened!" was another. The government is throwing significant firepower behind a sector which today is feeling pretty jubilant. The words growth, innovation and opportunity feature strongly in the new plan - replacing the previous narrative of caution, safety and existential threats. They haven't gone away, of course. But rather than concede that we can't compete in the AI arms race alongside the usual suspects - notably the US and China - the UK has decided to funnel money and resources at creating an infrastructure that at least enables us to try. In the last 14 months I've lost count of the number of AI pledges, commitments, declarations, draft bills and various other documents that have come my way. What's different about this plan is that it's decisive, it is full of practical detail and it is coming from the very top of government. But it's difficult to put a timeframe on it - building data centres and increasing the nation's computing power twentyfold, can't happen overnight. We will probably not see the fruits of it before the next general election - when the government will have to convince voters that it was still the right decision, at a time when public finances remain stretched.

UK PM Starmer to outline plan to make Britain world leader in AI

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say on Monday he wants the UK to become the world leader for artificial intelligence, promising to create special zones for data centres and encouraging more graduates to study technology-focused courses. Starmer will say he wants to put AI at the heart of his ambition to grow the economy, while the government will claim if the technology is fully adopted it could increase productivity by 1.5% a year, worth an extra 47 billion pounds ($57 billion), annually over a decade. Ahead of a speech in London by Starmer on AI, the government said it will adopt all the 50 recommendations set out in the report "AI Opportunities Action Plan" by venture capitalist Matt Clifford, submitted to the government last year. This includes making it easier to build data centres by accelerating planning permission and giving them energy connections. The first such centre will be built in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to Britain's Atomic Energy Authority. "Our plan will make Britain the world leader," Starmer was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. "That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people's pockets." Countries across the world are competing to turn their countries into AI hubs, while balancing the need for some restrictions on the technology. Britain is the third-largest AI market in the world behind the U.S. and China, when measured by indicators such as investment and patents, according to Stanford University. However, the Labour government's decision to set out the highest tax-raising budget since 1993 has damaged some business confidence and the Bank of England estimated last month that the economy did not grow in the last quarter. Starmer will say on Monday that AI has the power to transform the lives of people, including speeding up planning consultations, helping small businesses, and driving down admin for teachers so they can concentrate on teaching. "And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by," he will say. "We must move fast and take action." ($1 = 0.8194 pounds) Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by David Holmes Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

U.K. PM Keir Starmer to announce new plans to transform the country into an 'AI superpower' - SiliconANGLE

U.K. PM Keir Starmer to announce new plans to transform the country into an 'AI superpower' The U.K. government under Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce a plan to massively increase the country's computing infrastructure in order to foster the growth of homegrown artificial intelligence startups that can rival the likes of OpenAI. Under the U.K.'s "AI Opportunities Action Plan", the government has set itself an ambitious goal of increasing the country's data center capacity by as much as twentyfold by the end of the decade, CNBC reported. It's doing this in order to encourage the development of more advanced AI models, which are reliant on high-performance computing resources. Starmer (pictured) will visit Bristol, England, on Monday in order to announce the new initiative, which comes after he canceled £1.3 billion of taxpayer-funding that was set to be spent on alternative AI projects. Those projects, an AI Research Resource and an "exascale" supercomputer system, were previously unveiled by Starmer's predecessor, the Conservative PM Rishi Sunak. The plan comes at a time when European governments are showing increased interest in the idea of "sovereign AI", which refers to the belief that countries should ensure that new technologies critical to economic growth and national security are built and developed domestically. As part of the U.K.'s plan, Starmer's government wants to set up a number of "AI growth zones" across the country. Within these zones, rules on planning permission will be relaxed in order to remove obstacles to the construction of new data centers. At the same time, there are plans to create a new "AI Energy Council" that includes AI and energy industry leaders, who will be tasked with exploring how these new data centers can be powered with renewable and low-carbon energy sources, such as nuclear power. That last initiative seems to be inspired by recent moves from U.S. tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC and Microsoft Corp. to invest in "small modular reactors" that will provide an alternative source of low-carbon energy for their private data centers. Once the infrastructure is in place, the U.K. hopes to create a new "National Data Library" that will help to boost cooperation between public institutions such as universities and the private sector. Ultimately, it wants to pave the way for the rise of AI startups that can create "sovereign AI models" and reduce its reliance on Silicon Valley-based firms. However, it remains to be seen if the initiative will help to overcome the funding challenges experienced by U.K.-based entrepreneurs, who have struggled to raise the kind of cash that's available to AI leaders such as OpenAI. Some U.K. founders and venture capitalists have called for the country's pension funds to allocate more of their resources to riskier, high-growth startups. Magnus Grimeland, the founder and Chief Executive of U.K.-based VC Antler Ltd., told CNBC in an interview last year that the country's pension funds have more than $7 trillion that they're looking to invest. "Imagine if you take just 5% of that and allocate it to innovation -- you solve the problem," he said. Although funding remains a challenge, tech leaders have expressed optimism about the country's plans. Chintan Patel, the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems Inc. in the U.K., said that having a clearly-defined roadmap is "critical for the country to achieve its ambition to become an AI superpower." In addition, the U.K. is aiming to introduce a more lenient regulatory framework for AI that will give AI developers more leeway than the European Union's AI Act, which puts a lot of restrictions on the use of copyrighted data.

OpenAI rival being planned by UK government in new AI strategy

The news comes as Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl have committed to investing £14bn into the UK to build AI infrastructure and create more than 13,000 jobs. The UK government is seeking to rival OpenAI via its new artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The plan includes initiatives aimed at making the UK the number one place for AI firms to invest in. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to visit Bristol in England later today (13 January) to announce the plan, which follows 50 recommendations made by British tech investor Matt Clifford in his 'AI Opportunities Action Plan'. According to an official statement from the UK government, it will take onboard all recommendations set out by Clifford. The announcement comes as three major tech companies - Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl - committed to a £14bn investment in the UK to build AI infrastructure, with the additional aim of delivering 13,250 jobs across the UK. Data centres are key to developing large AI models. Last year, the UK designated data centres as critical national infrastructure, putting them on equal footing with vital services such as water, energy and emergency systems. The strategy includes: forging new 'AI Growth Zones' to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure; increasing the public compute capacity "by twentyfold" to give the UK increased processing power; establishing a new team to identify and act on opportunities provided by AI; creating a new National Data Library; and establishing an AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries to better understand energy demands and challenges. AI 'will drive incredible change' The government said that AI is already being used across the UK, particularly in the healthcare sector: "It is being used in hospitals up and down the country to deliver better, faster and smarter care: spotting pain levels for people who can't speak, diagnosing breast cancer quicker and getting people discharged quicker." Furthermore, the government claimed that the UK could "learn from the US's and EU's approach". Expressing his hopes for the plan, Starmer asserted that AI "will drive incredible change" throughout the UK. "From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people." He also maintained that the AI industry "needs a government that is on their side". "Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change." Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

UK PM Keir Starmer to announce new plans to transform the country into an 'AI superpower' - SiliconANGLE

UK PM Keir Starmer to announce new plans to transform the country into an 'AI superpower' The U.K. government under Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce a plan Monday to implement a massive increase in the country's computing infrastructure in order to foster the growth of homegrown artificial intelligence startups that can rival the likes of OpenAI. Under the U.K.'s "AI Opportunities Action Plan," the government has set itself an ambitious goal of increasing the country's data center capacity by as much as 20-fold by the end of the decade, CNBC reported today. It's doing this in order to encourage the development of more advanced AI models, which are reliant on high-performance computing resources. Starmer (pictured) will visit Bristol, England, on Monday in order to announce the new initiative, which comes after he canceled £1.3 billion of taxpayer-funding that was set to be spent on alternative AI projects. Those projects, an AI Research Resource and an "exascale" supercomputer system, were previously unveiled by Starmer's predecessor, the Conservative PM Rishi Sunak. The plan comes at a time when European governments are showing increased interest in the idea of "sovereign AI", which refers to the belief that countries should ensure that new technologies critical to economic growth and national security are built and developed domestically. As part of the U.K.'s plan, Starmer's government wants to set up a number of "AI growth zones" across the country. Within these zones, rules on planning permission will be relaxed in order to remove obstacles to the construction of new data centers. At the same time, there are plans to create a new "AI Energy Council" that includes AI and energy industry leaders, who will be tasked with exploring how these new data centers can be powered with renewable and low-carbon energy sources, such as nuclear power. That last initiative seems to be inspired by recent moves from U.S. tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC and Microsoft Corp. to invest in "small modular reactors" that will provide an alternative source of low-carbon energy for their private data centers. Once the infrastructure is in place, the U.K. hopes to create a new "National Data Library" that will help to boost cooperation between public institutions such as universities and the private sector. Ultimately, it wants to pave the way for the rise of AI startups that can create "sovereign AI models" and reduce its reliance on Silicon Valley-based firms. However, it remains to be seen if the initiative will help to overcome the funding challenges experienced by U.K.-based entrepreneurs, who have struggled to raise the kind of cash that's available to AI leaders such as OpenAI. Some U.K. founders and venture capitalists have called for the country's pension funds to allocate more of their resources to riskier, high-growth startups. Magnus Grimeland, the founder and Chief Executive of U.K.-based VC Antler Ltd., told CNBC in an interview last year that the country's pension funds have more than $7 trillion that they're looking to invest. "Imagine if you take just 5% of that and allocate it to innovation -- you solve the problem," he said. Although funding remains a challenge, tech leaders have expressed optimism about the country's plans. Chintan Patel, the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems Inc. in the U.K., said that having a clearly-defined roadmap is "critical for the country to achieve its ambition to become an AI superpower." In addition, the U.K. is aiming to introduce a more lenient regulatory framework for AI that will give AI developers more leeway than the European Union's AI Act, which puts a lot of restrictions on the use of copyrighted data.

British PM vows AI will usher in 'golden age'

London (AFP) - Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday laid out his vision to harness the power of artificial intelligence to boost Britain's flagging economy, promising flexible regulations amid concerns about the technology's unchecked use. Starmer's Labour government announced an "action plan" to make the UK "the world leader" in AI, with the "full weight" of its half a million strong civil service getting behind the endeavour. The "AI Opportunities Action Plan" includes 50 recommendations that the government will implement to boost AI-driven efficiency in the public sector, from education to detecting potholes. "AI is the greatest force for change in the world right now. I am determined to harness it to usher in a golden age of public service reform," Starmer wrote in the Financial Times ahead of a speech. Britain -- which has the third-largest AI industry after the United States and China -- does not need to "walk down a US or an EU path on AI regulation", Starmer added, as he looks to attract billions of pounds of investment from AI firms. "We can go our own way, taking a distinctively British approach that will test AI long before we regulate, so that everything we do will be proportionate and grounded in the science." Starmer's position moves away from the EU's strict data protection laws which have led to a slew of privacy complaints against tech giants relating to the use of personal data for developing AI products. In the US, incoming President Donald Trump's desire to deregulate the economy and his team of Silicon Valley-linked advisors could influence policies on AI regulation. Starmer's diverging approach comes amid concerns surrounding AI's role in spreading online misinformation and deepfake pornography, as well as fears robots could one day outsmart humans if left unchecked. 'Economic mismanagement' The government plans include the creation of "dedicated AI growth zones" designed to speed up planning proposals for data centres and other AI infrastructure. The government also plans to increase server capacity twentyfold by 2030, including by building "a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second". However, the Conservative opposition pointed out that Starmer previously axed a supercomputer project in Edinburgh planned by the previous government. Starmer's administration estimated that AI could be worth £47 billion ($57 billion) to the UK each year over a decade. It announced that three tech companies -- Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl -- had committed to spending £14 billion on AI in the UK, leading to the creation of more than 13,000 jobs. Starmer has put firing up Britain's economy at the heart of his agenda since taking office last July. But weaker-than-expected growth, rising borrowing costs and a falling pound is complicating his task, meaning he could be forced to make spending cuts or hike taxes this year. Shadow Science Secretary Alan Mak accused Labour of insufficiently funding its AI ambitions. "AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind," Mak said. There are also concerns that the sector-wide implementation of AI could result in job losses. "It's a disruptive technology, like many other previous technological waves," senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden told Times Radio. "But I think it's too pessimistic to simply talk about job losses," he added. The government is expected to wrap up next month a consultation to clarify the application of copyright law to AI, which it says aims to protect the creative industry.

UK PM Starmer to outline plan to make Britain world leader in AI

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say on Monday he wants the UK to become the world leader for artificial intelligence, promising to create special zones for data centres and encouraging more graduates to study technology-focused courses. Starmer will say he wants to put AI at the heart of his ambition to grow the economy, while the government will claim if the technology is fully adopted it could increase productivity by 1.5% a year, worth an extra 47 billion pounds ($57 billion), annually over a decade. Ahead of a speech in London by Starmer on AI, the government said it will adopt all the 50 recommendations set out in the report "AI Opportunities Action Plan" by venture capitalist Matt Clifford, submitted to the government last year. This includes making it easier to build data centres by accelerating planning permission and giving them energy connections. The first such centre will be built in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to Britain's Atomic Energy Authority. "Our plan will make Britain the world leader," Starmer was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. "That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people's pockets." Countries across the world are competing to turn their countries into AI hubs, while balancing the need for some restrictions on the technology. Britain is the third-largest AI market in the world behind the U.S. and China, when measured by indicators such as investment and patents, according to Stanford University. However, the Labour government's decision to set out the highest tax-raising budget since 1993 has damaged some business confidence and the Bank of England estimated last month that the economy did not grow in the last quarter. Starmer will say on Monday that AI has the power to transform the lives of people, including speeding up planning consultations, helping small businesses, and driving down admin for teachers so they can concentrate on teaching. "And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by," he will say. "We must move fast and take action." (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by David Holmes)

UK's Starmer to 'unleash' action plan to make Britain world leader in AI

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will present an action plan on Monday aiming to position the UK as a global leader in artificial intelligence. His strategy intends to revive the economy by deploying AI nationwide, supported by the civil service. Starmer's forthcoming speech will detail Britain's approach to AI amid global regulatory challenges. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due Monday to outline an "action plan" to make the UK "the world leader" in artificial intelligence and spark Britain's flagging economy. His Labour administration said AI would be "unleashed" across the whole of the country, with the "full weight" of its half a million strong civil service getting behind the endeavour. "Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country," Starmer said in a statement late Sunday. "From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people." Starmer was due to lay out fuller details of Britain's approach to AI technology, which is raising complex questions for governments around the world, during a speech later on Monday. In Sunday's press release ahead of the address, the premier said the AI industry "needs a government that is on their side, one that won't sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers". "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," he insisted. The government's 50 proposals include creating what it calls "dedicated AI growth zones" designed to speed up planning proposals for data centres and other AI infrastructure. It also plans to increase server capacity twentyfold by 2030, including by building "a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second". The government said the proposals would mean the public sector would spend less time "doing admin". It noted that hospitals were already using AI to help diagnose breast cancer quicker and said AI had the potential to spot potholes and help improve roads. Starmer's administration added that AI could be worth £47 billion ($57 billion) to the UK each year over a decade. It announced that three tech companies -- Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl -- had committed to spending £14 billion on AI in the UK, leading to the creation of more than 13,000 jobs. Starmer has put firing up Britain's economy at the heart of his agenda since taking office last July. But weaker-than-expected growth, rising borrowing costs and a falling pound is complicating his task, meaning he could be forced to make spending cuts or hike taxes this year. Countries are trying to figure out how to harness the benefits of AI while also regulating the technology amid fears that robots could one day outsmart humans if left unchecked. AI is also increasingly being blamed for the spread online of misinformation and deepfake pornography.

What is Starmer's plan to turn Britain into an AI superpower?

Sir Keir Starmer has launched a plan to harness artificial intelligence across the public and private sectors, which he hopes will cut costs and turbocharge UK economic growth. The AI Opportunities Action Plan, written by venture capitalist Matt Clifford, sets out 50 recommendations. All of them have been approved by Starmer, to ensure Britain is "one of the great AI superpowers" and an "AI maker" rather than an "AI taker". But experts have cautioned there are major obstacles ahead, from access to energy and computing power, to entrenched public concerns about governance of the rapidly evolving technology and profligate use of private data. Starmer has broadly outlined plans to give researchers and AI companies access to public data sets, including anonymised NHS patient data, in an effort to make Britain an attractive place for businesses and to improve productivity in the struggling health service. Ministers intend for NHS data to form part of a new "national data library" and five public data sets are likely to form the first tranche when the project is up and running. The prime minister did not confirm on Monday whether these data sets would be sold for commercial use, and whether work was being undertaken to determine how the data would be priced. He said, however, that while it is important the government maintains "control" of health records, "I don't think we should have a defensive stance that will inhibit the sorts of breakthroughs that we need". Nell Thornton, a fellow at the Health Foundation, said that the think-tank's polling showed that 75 per cent of the public were happy to share at least some of their data to develop AI systems within the NHS. Still, health specialists and privacy campaigners are sceptical the government will ensure the necessary guardrails are in place to protect private health information and the service itself. Saif Abed, a former NHS doctor and expert in cyber security and public health, said he "fears [AI's] wanton deployment without stringent safeguards will make the NHS vulnerable". "Who will perform the governance, audit and oversight function on behalf of the NHS of all these suppliers? How will suppliers be penalised for poor behaviour?," he added. The government confirmed that an £800mn "Exascale" supercomputer at Edinburgh university would not be going ahead. It will instead invest in a new supercomputer that is more specifically focused on AI. It is unclear how advanced Starmer's new project will be, how much it will cost and when it will get off the ground but he has committed to increasing Britain's government-owned computing power 20-fold. Analysts argue that "sovereign" compute capacity -- where data is processed and stored in the UK -- is essential to ensure British companies and researchers have access to reliable and rapid processing power at a reasonable cost, at a time when access to computing power is becoming a geopolitical battleground. Exascale supercomputers -- defined as the ability to produce a billion billion operations a second -- are being developed by many major economies around the world, including the US and China. Nscale, an AI data centre company, announced plans on Monday to invest £2bn in the UK over the next three years to build sovereign AI computing facilities, to reduce British companies' dependence on US cloud providers. Karl Havard, chief operating officer of Nscale, said that the government's renewed focus on AI was a "catalyst to make this move much faster". Clifford's proposals call for an increase in computing power that could be made available to academics and AI researchers -- the equivalent of 100,000 graphics processing units in government-owned capacity by 2030. But the target falls short of the capacity already available to Big Tech companies. Elon Musk's xAI recently opened a data centre in Memphis to train the next generation of its AI model that boasts 100,000 GPUs and plans to increase that figure to more than 1mn specialised AI chips in the coming years. Data centres require electricity to run and keep cool. How much depends on their size, with relatively modest requirements for average sites. But a giant "hyperscale" centre can consume as much electricity annually as 350,000 to 400,000 electric cars, according to the International Energy Agency. In a report in November, the UK's National Energy System Operator, the body responsible for operating and planning Britain's electricity system, predicted demand for electricity from data centres in Britain will grow fourfold by 2030. Yet the UK's electricity system is under strain, with long waits to connect to the electricity grid and high electricity prices. "There are countries that have taken the lead [in data centres] and we are not one of them," said Kate Mulvany, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy. "If we are looking to excel, energy availability and costs will play a part," she added. The government said today that it would create special "AI growth zones" where projects will have "better access to the energy grid". The first will be in Culham, Oxfordshire. Luke Alvarez, managing general partner at Hiro Capital, a London-based tech investor, said the UK needs "a lot more energy fast" to meet its AI promises. The prime minister is under intense pressure to convince markets that his policies will boost economic growth in the medium term as he seeks to keep his government's fiscal plans on track. A sell-off in bonds pushed Britain's borrowing costs to a 16-year high on Monday. Starmer said "I don't think it's going to take five or ten years to double productivity, not for a moment", adding that he was "absolutely confident that the timeframes we're talking about are much, much shorter". However, most data centres that store and process the data which feeds into AI algorithms take years to build, and the government's plans for its national data library are in their infancy.

UK pledges huge increase in computing capacity to build AI industry

The UK will invest in a huge expansion of government-owned AI computing capacity over five years including building a new supercomputer as it seeks to establish a globally competitive artificial intelligence sector, ministers will announce on Monday. The move is in response to a newly published report on AI opportunities for the UK economy, commissioned by the government and drafted by British venture capitalist Matt Clifford. The supercomputer will join the UK's two other advanced machines including Isambard-AI at the University of Bristol, which contains about 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), specialised chips to build AI software, and Dawn at the University of Cambridge. Clifford's report advocates reaching the equivalent of 100,000 GPUs in government-owned capacity by 2030. The new capacity, which would represent a 20-fold increase in the UK's sovereign computing power, will be separate to privately owned AI data centres and will be deployed by the government primarily for AI applications in academia and public services. It is unclear how much the project will cost, although it will come out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's research and development budget. The announcement comes as Clifford is appointed as a part-time adviser to ministers on AI, helping to implement the recommendations in his report, according to two people briefed on the plan. Downing Street declined to comment on the proposals. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "Our plan will make Britain the world leader [in AI]. It will give the industry the foundation it needs . . . That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people's pockets, and transformed public services. That's the change this government is delivering." Starmer became more excited about the value of AI as an engine of economic growth and public sector reform following a private dinner with former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and DeepMind chief Sir Demis Hassabis the night before the UK's global investment summit in October, according to people briefed on the matter. The Clifford report, known as the "AI Opportunities Action Plan", was submitted to the government in September, but its publication has been beset by delays. Several cabinet ministers met to discuss its contents in December, according to people briefed on the discussions. It sets out 50 recommendations to create a thriving national AI industry by improving the conditions to build, scale and adopt the novel technology. Among the accepted recommendations by the government are: the creation of AI "growth zones", areas of the UK with accelerated access to planning approvals to build out AI infrastructure; and an AI Energy Council, to advise on requirements around energy resources for AI, including nuclear energy. Tech experts, including Clifford, have argued that sovereign compute capacity is essential to ensure that British AI companies and researchers can become less dependent on AI businesses in other countries. They argue that the capacity can establish new AI technology and companies that are globally relevant, and that having access to reliable computer power at a reasonable cost is crucial as computing infrastructure is becoming a geopolitical battleground. Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle came under fire in August for scrapping funding for an £800mn Exascale supercomputer programme at Edinburgh university, a machine that can perform complex scientific computations such as physics simulations, in a move that caught the technology and academic sector off-guard. Kyle has insisted he did "not cut anything", since the £800mn promised by the previous government had not been budgeted for. In the absence of any significant new sovereign compute programmes, the UK's most powerful computer has been overtaken by rivals, meaning the country no longer has a machine ranked in the global top 50. Additional reporting by George Hammond in San Francisco

UK unveils plans to mainline AI into the veins of the nation

Government adopts all 50 venture capitalist recommendations but leaves datacenter energy puzzle unsolved Britain's government is adopting all 50 recommendations made by a venture capitalist to use AI to drive economic recovery, without even acknowledging the resulting energy challenge this strategy likely poses. Under the AI Opportunities Action Plan, announced Monday, the administration claims that fully embracing the technology will boost productivity by 1.5 percent a year, gains said to be worth up to £47 billion ($57 billion) each year. In an unprecedented move, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he will take forward guidance set out by Matt Clifford, a tech entrepreneur hired in 2024 to advise government on how AI could kickstart economic expansion. The advice includes setting up "AI Growth Zones" with streamlined planning processes to expedite the building of more datacenters, beefing up national compute capacity with a new AI supercomputer, and the creation of a new National Data Library to "unlock" the value of public data in supporting AI development. The government also talked up £14 billion in fresh investments from three companies - Vantage Data Centers, Nscale, and Kyndryl - to help build the local AI infrastructure. A number of US tech firms had already confirmed their intention to expand local data facilities in Britain last year. However, this additional AI infrastructure will need power - and there are already issues with getting electricity to proposed datacenter sites. The "AI Growth Zones", we're told, will give them "better access to the energy grid," according to today's announcement, but where will the energy itself come from? Last year, the CEO of Britain's National Grid was already warning that datacenter power consumption was on track to grow 500 percent over the next decade. And a recent report claimed that Americans face a 70 percent hike in their electricity bills by 2030 unless extra capacity is added to satisfy AI's thirst for power. UK industrial energy prices are already the highest in the world, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs. Perhaps recognizing there might be a latent problem, the government says it will set up a dedicated "AI Energy Council" chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries. This will work with energy companies "to understand the energy demands and challenges" of its AI plans. The government made no reference to solving the problem. We asked the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) if it has any plans for new capacity in the pipeline, and await a response with interest. In recent years, local planning departments have declined datacenter planning applications for lack of available power, as one of the UK's major developers highlighted last year. With the "AI Growth Zones," the government seemingly has no problem with overriding concerns from local authorities. "The announcements today largely build on those from last year, both in terms of AI infrastructure investment and government initiatives to boost AI pilots and further conversation around critical issues," said TechMarketView Principal Analyst Simon Baxter. "But creating more datacenters will not necessarily lead to higher AI usage in the UK. Certainly, when it comes to the use of AI in public services, there are no clear timelines on how quickly the technology can be implemented, and there is a risk that the impact of AI may be far less than expected." Baxter also warned that public sector budgets are set to be even tighter from 2026 onward so most departments and agencies will be desperate to see early gains. And if they don't, they may well struggle to justify continued investment. Clear examples of any returns public departments are achieving from AI are so far missing, he noted. The plans for a new supercomputer to drive the government's AI plans are also puzzling as one of the new Labour government's early announcements after being elected last year was the cancellation of an £800 million ($1 billion) exascale supercomputer project at Edinburgh University launched by the previous government. The Register asked DSIT if this was a reinstatement of that project or a different one, and will let readers know when further details emerge. "As for building more supercomputers to boost public compute capacity 20-fold and the announcement of the National Data Library, there are a lot of details lacking regarding the timelines involved," Baxter commented. "Again, questions have to be asked as to how much such actions will move the needle on achieving that goal of a 1.5 percent productivity boost in the short term." Starmer claimed that "our plan will make Britain the world leader" in AI, a piece of pure hyperbole given that almost all the action in AI is happening in the US or China, and even British success stories such as DeepMind are owned by foreign companies. In contrast, Steve Brazier, founder and former CEO at Canalys told the analyst firm's Channels Forum last year that Europe has already missed the technology boat, and every office worker in the region is paying a €100-a-month "tax" to American companies for a right to work. "And with the arrival of AI, that €100 a month is simply going to go further up," he claimed. ®

Britain seeks to build homegrown rival to OpenAI in bid to become world leader in artificial intelligence

LONDON -- The U.K is looking to build a homegrown challenger to OpenAI and drastically increase national computing infrastructure, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government sets its sights on becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence. Starmer is set to visit Bristol, England, on Monday to announce the pledge, which follows work done by British tech investor Matt Clifford to establish an "AI Opportunities Action Plan." The plan aims to help the U.K. take advantage of the potential of AI. The government is primarily seeking to expand data center capacity across the U.K. to boost developers of powerful AI models which rely on high-performance computing equipment hosted in remote locations to train and run their systems. A target of increasing "sovereign," or public sector, compute capacity in the U.K. by twentyfold by 2030 has been set. As part of that pledge, the government will begin opening access to the AI Research Resource, an initiative aimed at bolstering U.K. computing infrastructure. Starmer's administration last year canceled £1.3 billion of taxpayer-funded spending commitments towards two significant computing initiatives in order to prioritize other fiscal plans. The projects, an AI Research Resource and a next-generation "exascale" supercomputer, were pledges were made under Starmer's predecessor, Rishi Sunak. Sovereign AI has become a hot topic for policymakers, particularly in Europe. The term refers to the idea that technologies critical to economic growth and national security should be built and developed in the countries people are adopting them in. To further bolster Britain's computing infrastructure, the government also committed to setting up several AI "growth zones," where rules on planning permission will be relaxed in certain places to allow for the creation of new data centers. Meanwhile, an "AI Energy Council" formed of industry leaders from both energy and AI will be set up to explore the role of renewable and low-carbon sources of energy, like nuclear.

UK PM Keir Starmer Introduces AI Action Plan to Fix Ailing NHS

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a bold "AI Opportunities Action Plan" aimed at transforming the UK into a global leader in artificial intelligence. According to the government, with £14 billion in private investment commitments from companies like Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl, the plan is expected to create over 13,000 jobs and modernise critical infrastructure to support AI growth. Introducing the initiative, Starmer said, "Artificial intelligence has the power to transform lives -- from helping teachers focus on students to streamlining NHS care -- and it's time we harnessed it to deliver real change for working people." At the heart of the plan is the creation of "AI Growth Zones," which will fast-track planning for data centres and other AI infrastructure while ensuring they have access to the energy grid. The government also said that it will increase the compute capacity twentyfold by 2030, beginning with the construction of a new supercomputer capable of processing AI tasks at unprecedented speeds. Additional measures include the development of a National Data Library to securely unlock the value of public data and the establishment of an AI Energy Council to meet the sector's power demands sustainably. Starmer highlighted the potential for AI to improve productivity and enhance public services. From accelerating planning applications to reducing administrative workloads for teachers, the plan aims to improve efficiency while driving economic growth. The International Monetary Fund estimates that AI adoption could raise productivity by up to 1.5% annually, with the potential to add £47 billion to the UK economy each year over the next decade. "Our plan will make Britain the world leader," Starmer added, promising that the initiative would "turbocharge the Plan for Change, create jobs, and put more money in people's pockets." The UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan has been broadly welcomed by industry leaders, who see it as a practical step towards driving economic growth and innovation. Darren Hardman, UK CEO of Microsoft, called the initiative "what's needed to boost growth and improve public services." Companies like Darktrace and Anthropic recognised the plan's focus on infrastructure and strategy as essential for maintaining the UK's position in the global AI landscape. Industry leaders stressed the importance of prompt and effective implementation to maximise the plan's potential benefits for the economy and public services.

With AI hype cooling, PM hopes the technology will boost his 'efficiency' mission

You'd be forgiven for thinking your AI was hallucinating. The last government hastily convened an "AI safety summit" over fears AI could destroy civilisation. The latest has just announced a plan that "mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation". Read more: UK to 'mainline AI in the veins' All that has really happened is the hype around AI has cooled - and with it have the comparisons to Terminator. Even the people making the largest, most powerful AIs seem to still be figuring out what they're good for. The economic realities of training ever-larger AI models and paying for the hardware and energy to power them is another factor. To be fair to the previous government, it's main interest in AI was also potential for economic growth - but given the mood at the time, it had to be circumspect with language. Not so for Keir Starmer. And, with an agenda geared more towards efficiency, public-sector improvement and stimulating UK industry, AI fits his mission well. Read more from science and technology: Jeff Bezos's New Glenn debut launch called off MPs to debate law to allow bereaved parents access to children's social media Millions of people's 'intimate' location data stolen in major hack Complex algorithms are well-suited to repetitive, tedious admin tasks that take up too much of our teachers', nurses' or tax officers' time. AI can also see patterns or solve problems in large data-sets too unwieldy for human brains to manage well. Cutting NHS waiting lists, discovering new drugs from huge patient databases or simply freeing up teachers' or nurses' time to do their real jobs are all attractive to politicians. As are the highly skilled, well-paid jobs in a sector in which the UK is already strong. It's a tricky road however. It will take more than a plan to encourage more big tech companies to grow or invest in the UK. Risky too - the NHS and projects like UK Biobank are the largest single source of patient-level healthcare data in the world. They are immensely attractive to big tech companies fast running out of real information on which to train their ever-hungry AI models. How to make such data available in a way that benefits his mission without AI taking over some of the UKs most valuable, and most private resources, is Keir Starmer's challenge.

Britain doesn't need to walk a US or EU path on AI

Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation. It's not a technology that is coming. It is already here, materially changing lives. It's preventing illness in our NHS. It's creating exciting new companies in our economy. It's pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery in our universities. And it is turbocharging this government's plan to transform the country. Take waiting times in the NHS. We will use AI to cut them by filling appointments patients can no longer make and quickly rescheduling. Or take your children's schooling. We will expand opportunities for teachers to use AI to personalise lessons specifically to your child's needs. The possibilities are endless. AI can support small businesses with their record-keeping. It can spot potholes more quickly. It can help speed up planning applications to get Britain building again. On and on it goes. In the years ahead, barely any aspect of our society will remain untouched. Britain should be excited by this. For one, it offers credible hope of a long-desired boost in public sector productivity. Nurses, social workers, teachers, police officers -- for millions of frontline workers, AI can give the precious gift of time. This means they can refocus on the care and connection aspects of their job that so often get buried beneath the bureaucracy. That's the wonderful irony of AI in the public sector. It provides an opportunity to make services feel more human. Equally, as the third largest AI market in the world, Britain is well-placed to take advantage of the growth opportunities. Numerous blue-chip AI companies already call Britain home. Our universities are packed to the rafters with scientific talent. We have a thriving tech ecosystem with some of the best entrepreneurs on the planet. Our AI safety infrastructure is genuinely world leading. And our values of democracy, open commerce and the rule of law are well-suited to this test. Our values are absolutely critical for the free exchange of ideas needed to truly maximise AI's potential. Nonetheless, we cannot sit back complacently and wait for the competition to catch up. The global race for AI leadership is fast and getting faster. Some countries are going to make AI breakthroughs and export them to the world. Others will be left to buy those breakthroughs and import them. I don't believe government should be passive or neutral on this -- this is the bread and butter of industrial policy. AI is the greatest force for change in the world right now. I am determined to harness it to usher in a golden age of public service reform. And I am determined the UK will become the best place to start and scale an AI business. I know growth in this area cannot be state-led. But it is absolutely the job of government to make sure the right conditions are in place. That's why, within days of our election, I commissioned venture capitalist Matt Clifford to develop a plan for harnessing AI's boundless potential. Today, we launch that plan and take forward the results. We will create new AI growth zones and breathe fresh life into former industrial sites across the country. We will increase public sector compute -- the engine of AI power -- by a factor of at least 20. We will establish a gold standard data access regime, with a National Data Library, a clear and trusted copyright regime, and a new determination to unlock the innovation potential of NHS data. And we will bulldoze through the ludicrous blockages in our planning system that stop billions from being invested in the data centres and grid connectors that AI depends upon. Make no mistake -- these reforms are already beginning to bear fruit. On Monday alone, Vantage Data Centers confirmed it will invest more than £12bn in new data centres across the country, including building one of Europe's largest data centre in Wales. That should create 11,500 jobs in AI and construction. And it's a sign of things to come. Because Britain shouldn't just be excited about AI -- it should be confident. We don't need to walk down a US or an EU path on AI regulation -- we can go our own way, taking a distinctively British approach that will test AI long before we regulate, so that everything we do will be proportionate and grounded in the science. And alongside that, an offer to investors of stability, pragmatism and the good sense they would expect from democratic British values. Put simply, that's our message to anyone working at the AI frontier: take a look at Britain. Our ambition is to be the best state partner for you anywhere in the world. We can see the future, we are running towards it and we back our builders. Because we know that AI has arrived as the ultimate force for change and national renewal.

UK Government Unveils Plan to Become AI Superpower

During his visit to Bristol, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, unveiled a detailed plan to make the United Kingdom a hub for artificial intelligence. The initiative plans to strengthen the country's computing power while building the capacity of local AI solutions. This move forms part of the government's use of AI to develop different industries. The plan also outlines the growth of data center capacity and the creation of several AI growth zones. These zones will be governed by flexible planning rules to allow for the establishment of new data centers. The government will also increase the sovereign computing capacity by twenty times by 2030 to improve the country's capability to build powerful AI models without relying on foreign tech giants.

Keir Starmer pledges to make UK a 'great AI superpower' as he outlines plan for growth

We've been seeing a lot of reaction from across the UK tech sector this morning - with much of it welcoming the government's plans. Adam Leon Smith, a Fellow of The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS), called it a "statement of belief in the UK's tech sector". "We will need, at least, tens of thousands more people to become skilled AI professionals to transform the nation in the way this report envisages," he says. "We'll achieve this by investing not just in university students, but by re-training the over 50s, and winning over more of the half a million women who are missing from the tech industry." Meanwhile Professor Dame Wendy Hall, speaking on the Today programme, says the UK already bats above its weight in the AI sector. But some have said there needs to be a broader focus on improving a range of skills, not just technical ones. UKAI - a trade body representing AI businesses across the UK - believes there should be greater emphasis on maths and analytical skills in primary and secondary school curriculums to help make firms more skilled and productive.

More than 100 AI trials for small-business productivity launched

Some 120 projects trialling how artificial intelligence (AI) could help small businesses be more productive have been launched by the UK Government in its first wave of initiatives to use the technology to boost the economy. The projects include an AI tool that can predict potholes before they appear, another which can anticipate where mould is likely to grow in buildings and another being trialled at a bakery aimed at cutting food waste. Each of the projects will receive a share of £7m in government funding to help test the AI technology. The projects follow the announcement on Monday of the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan, where the Prime Minister confirmed the government would accept and take forward all 50 recommendations about boosting the AI sector in the UK made in the action plan by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford. It includes commitments to greatly expand on the compute power and AI infrastructure available in the UK to support the growth of businesses, as well as to more widely adopt the technology in the public sector, while also continuing to work on AI safety and bring forward regulation. The government said the announcement of the 120 projects coming online would help spread AI adoption across the country, with the long-term aim of boosting living standards, creating jobs and helping the economy. Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: "Putting AI to work right across the economy can help businesses cut waste, move faster and be more productive. "The huge range of projects receiving funding today, from farmers and bakers to those tackling potholes on our roads and mould in residential properties, demonstrates the truly limitless benefits of AI that are there for the taking. "And take them we will, with our 50-point AI Opportunities Plan, published yesterday, to unleash AI across the UK, delivering a decade of national renewal and firing up our Plan for Change." Expanding the UK's national AI infrastructure and supporting "homegrown" AI is at the centre of the government's plans to embrace the new technology. The central pillar of the plan sees it commit to building new AI infrastructure and expanding the UK's "sovereign" compute capacity by at least 20-fold by 2030 to keep pace with global development. The government said this would be done by delivering a new state-of-the-art supercomputing facility to double the country's existing AI research resource, with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to lock in a site and other key details this year. A new, long-term compute strategy will also be published in the spring. This will be combined with plans for so-called AI Growth Zones, designated areas where the government would partner with the private sector to deliver large amounts of computing power to support "key national priorities" and create jobs in those areas. The first site has already been confirmed as Culham in Oxfordshire and the headquarters of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. In addition, the implementation of the action plan will see the creation of a National Data Library - a bank of securely held and managed public sector data, which could be used to support AI research and innovation. The government said these schemes will then be used to help the UK "secure a stake" in the global leadership of AI by supporting UK-based AI leaders and firms by giving them access to the new infrastructure and resources. The government said it was also committing to the plan's recommendation of supporting top AI talent relocating to the UK to work with UK-based AI firms. On AI regulation, the UK must continue to invest in its AI Safety Institute to ensure the technology is properly regulated and the public maintains trust in it, the action plan said. It warned, however, that uncertainty around intellectual property is "hindering innovation and undermining our broader ambitions for AI" and "needs to be resolved". The report recommended the UK adopt an approach like that of the EU which is "designed to support AI innovation while also enabling rights holders to have control over the use of content they produce". In addition, it said the government needs to assess the current AI skills gap, the plan said, to ensure there are enough AI-ready workers. Once this assessment is carried out, ministers must ensure universities boost the number of AI graduates, and expand the education pathways into AI. An international scheme mirroring the scale of the Rhodes scholarship should meanwhile be established to bring foreign AI talent to the UK. Elsewhere, the migration system should be used to encourage more graduates from abroad with AI skills to work in Britain. In a speech in east London on Monday, Keir Starmer said: "AI isn't something locked away behind the walls of blue chip companies; it's a force for change that will transform the lives of working people for the better. "So if you're sitting around the kitchen table tonight worrying about the opportunities at your children's school, AI can help teachers plan a lesson tailored to your children's specific needs. "If you're worried about waiting times - aren't we all? AI can save hundreds of thousands of hours lost to missed appointments, because it can identify those on the list most likely not to turn up and help get them the support that they need, maybe change for a more convenient appointment. "It can spot potholes quicker, speed up planning applications, reduce job centre form-filling, help with the fight against tax avoidance and almost halve the time that social workers spend on paperwork." He added: "Yes, there will be teething problems, of course there will, but we can't lose sight of the vast potential here." The previous government had said it would support an 'exascale' supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, but the plans were shelved shortly after Labour came to power with the government saying the Tories had failed to allocate any money to the project. But in a change of strategy for the new administration, the construction of a new supercomputer is now expected to be funded in partnership with the private sector as part of its plans. The government will also create a national data library of public sector data that will be used to train AI models. It is expected that NHS data would be included, with protections such as anonymisation, potentially sparking concern from privacy campaigners. Asked about how companies and researchers may use the library, Starmer told reporters at a Q&A session after his speech: "It is important that we keep control of that data, I completely accept that challenge, and we will do so. "But I don't think that we should have a defensive stance here that will inhibit the sort of breakthroughs that we need." The government is not just hoping to attract AI investment with its action plan, but also spur the adoption of the technology across Whitehall in a bid to improve productivity and cut costs. Starmer has personally written to Cabinet ministers ordering them to make driving AI adoption and growth in their departments a top priority. As well as safety, the government must grapple with competing demands of different sectors such as the creative industries. Artists and media companies have complained that AI developers' use of their material to train programmes such as Chat-GPT has infringed their copyright, and the government is currently consulting on the issue. Under Monday's plan, Science Secretary Peter Kyle and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will chair an AI Energy Council tasked with understanding the demands and challenges AI presents for energy companies. Alongside Monday's announcement, the government revealed tech companies had committed a total of £14bn of investment in AI infrastructure in the UK; expected to create 13,250 jobs. This included a £12bn commitment from Vantage Data Centres, which is already building one of Europe's largest data centres in Wales, and £2bn from Nscale, including a contract to build the largest UK sovereign data centre at Loughton, in Essex, by 2026. Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.