Plans to ‘unleash AI’ across the UK revealed

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that artificial intelligence offered “huge potential” to revitalize Britain’s public services.

In a speech setting out the government’s plans to use AI to drive growth and deliver services more efficiently across the UK, Sir Keir said the government has a strong commitment to making AI “work for working people. ”He said he was responsible.

The AI ​​Opportunities Action Plan is backed by major technology companies, some of which have committed £14 billion to a range of projects and created 13,250 jobs, the government said.

But the government faces questions over how much time and money it will take to make that vision a reality, amid concerns over borrowing costs and the fall in the value of the pound.

The plan includes proposals for growth zones where development would be focused and suggests the technology could help address issues such as potholes.

Estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) support the claim that AI has the potential to improve productivity, but also say that change may occur gradually.

The government has tasked AI adviser Matt Clifford with developing a UK action plan to support the growth and use of artificial intelligence in public services.

He returned with 50 recommendations, which are now being implemented.

These include the UK investing in new supercomputers to increase its computing power, after the Labor government abandoned the previous government’s plans to install a supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh. This represents a change in strategy for all.

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

“We’re going to put AI to work for everyone in this country,” he added, adding, “The battle for tomorrow’s jobs is happening today.”

Sir Keir said the UK would become one of the AI ​​”superpowers”, reflecting former chancellor Rishi Sunak’s desire to strengthen the UK sector to rival the US and China. said.

At the time, many of Sunak’s proposals were aimed at mitigating future risks for extremely powerful AI systems.

He said in October 2023 that AI could enable faster and easier production of chemical and biological weapons or be used by terrorist groups to spread disinformation.

He added that in the worst-case scenario, society could lose control over AI.

The new plan appears to have little emphasis on government ‘security’ and instead focuses on maximizing opportunity, growth and innovation.

The shift from the previous caution and security narrative suggests that the government has decided that the UK should try to join the AI ​​arms race currently being led by the world’s leading companies, including the US and China.

However, building data centers and increasing a nation’s computing power will not happen overnight.

This means the government is unlikely to know the final outcome of this massive project before the next general election. At the next general election, Labor will have to convince voters that it was still the right decision in a time of financial stress.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall said the proposals were “ambitious” but necessary if the UK was to keep up with the pace of development.

“This is an ambitious plan, but it will require significant upfront investment,” she told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme.

“It’s going to take time to recoup that investment, and they need to work on it for the long term.”

The government’s proposals include:

AI is used in the public sector to enable employees to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time providing services. Several “AI growth zones” will be created across the UK, containing large-scale building projects and new jobs. AI is fed there. Cameras across the country inspect roads and identify potholes that need repair Teachers and small business owners have been highlighted as two groups that can start using AI for faster planning, record keeping, and more. Ta. AI is already being used in UK hospitals for critical tasks such as: It will now be available more quickly as a cancer diagnostic and will continue to be used to support the NHS.

The government is also proposing to strengthen Britain’s infrastructure as part of the plan, with technology companies committing £14bn to building large data centers and technology hubs.

But Alan Mack, the shadow science secretary, said Labor was “delivering analogue government in a digital age”.

The push towards AI is seen as a way to cut public spending, but Mr Mack accused Labor of undermining this goal with its economic policies.

He said: “Labour’s mismanagement of the economy and unincentive plans will mean Britain will be left behind.”

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC there was no reason Britain couldn’t create a technology company on the scale of Google, Amazon or Apple.

“Currently, there are no British-funded frontier concept companies.”

He highlighted DeepMind, which developed technology that allows computers to play video and board games, as an example of a once British-born company that is now American-owned.

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

Tim Flagg, chief operating officer of UKAI, the industry body representing AI businesses in the UK, said the proposal took a “narrow view” of the field’s contributors and was too focused on big tech. said.

“AI innovation spans a wide range of industries, from small businesses to non-tech sectors, all of which are driving a new industrial revolution,” he said.

“It is time for the government to recognize this wider definition and harness the full potential of AI across the UK.”

Questions continue to be raised about the risks of deploying AI systems that can “hallucinate”, create fabrications, or discriminate against certain groups of people due to bias.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said AI was a developing technology, saying, “We’re still at the foothills.”

He said the government-developed AI teaching assistant had been used by around 30,000 teachers in the UK so far.

“This will save teachers about three-and-a-half hours a week. If they want, they can get their Sunday nights back in terms of preparing lessons and preparing the classroom,” he told BBC Breakfast. .

Mr McFadden said AI applications used in health services could detect some cancers early that cannot be detected by the human eye.

But he acknowledged that AI is “not perfect” after Apple faced calls to withdraw a controversial feature that generated inaccurate news alerts on the latest iPhones.

“We have to look at safety as well as opportunity,” McFadden said.

“The truth is, you can’t just opt ​​out of this, or you’ll just see it developed elsewhere.”