Policy: Government Adopts AI Opportunities Action Plan
In a speech at University College London’s (UCL) Manufacturing Futures Lab, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has announced that the government will take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford CBE, chair of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), in his AI Opportunities Action Plan. The government’s goal is a thriving domestic AI ecosystem, with serious players at multiple layers of the ‘AI stack’ and widespread use of AI products and services across the economy.
Key announcements include:
- New AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure.
- Increasing the public compute capacity by twentyfold, starting immediately with work starting on a brand new supercomputer.
- A new team will be set up to ‘seize the opportunities of AI and build the UK’s sovereign capabilities’.
- A new National Data Library to safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development.
- A dedicated AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries working with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges of AI, and support the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower by tapping into technologies like small modular reactors.
The Action Plan is supported by estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that AI could 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 UK each year over a decade. The government also considers the Action Plan as being at the heart of its Industrial Strategy and the first plank of the upcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 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 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.
‘That’s the change this government is delivering.’
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.’