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.”
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Source: https://decrypt.co/300607/uk-prime-minister-to-outline-plans-to-turbocharge-britains-future-with-ai
