The Government will set out plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) across the UK to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan, to be announced on Monday, is backed by major technology companies and is said to have committed £14bn to a range of projects and created 13,250 jobs.
This includes planning for growth zones where development will be focused, and the technology will be used to help tackle issues such as potholes.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC: “We want to make sure that it benefits everyone, from all backgrounds, in every part of the UK, and that it benefits every community.”
Last summer, the government tasked AI adviser Matt Clifford with creating a UK action plan on artificial intelligence.
He returned with 50 recommendations, all of which are currently being implemented.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said AI would bring “incredible changes” to the country and “could change the lives of working people”.
“Our plans will make Britain a world leader,” Sir Keir said.
Kyle told the BBC there was no reason Britain couldn’t build a technology company on the scale of Google, Amazon or Apple.
He said: “At the moment there is no British-owned frontier concept company. We have DeepMind, which was founded in the UK but is now US-owned.”
“We now want to keep all the elements in the UK that enable innovation and investment of this kind of scale.”
DeepMind has created technology that allows you to play video games and board games on your computer.
It was founded by three students at University College London before being acquired by Google.
Using figures from the International Monetary Fund, the government estimates that the full implementation of AI could be worth an average of up to £47bn each year to the UK over 10 years.
Technology companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl have committed £14bn to building relevant AI infrastructure in the UK.
This is in addition to the £25bn of AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.
Vantage Data Centers is building one of Europe’s largest data center campuses in Wales.
Kyndryl will create up to 1,000 AI jobs in Liverpool over the next three years, creating a new technology hub.
Nscale has signed a contract to build an AI data center in Loughton, Essex by 2026.
The government says it will create “AI Growth Zones” across the UK, with rapid planning proposals to build new infrastructure.
Its first project will be in Cullum, Oxfordshire, with further projects focused on deindustrialized areas expected to be announced this summer.
“The jobs of the past are already starting to decline, so we want to find areas of the country where the jobs of the future are really needed and take advantage of the fact that those areas often have a very good electrical grid to serve them. I’m thinking, I have too much energy right now,” Kyle said.
Other parts of the plan include a new national data library to secure public data and an AI Energy Council, led by Kyle and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, to focus on the energy demands of technology. I’m guessing.
The Conservatives said the government’s plans “will not support Britain to become a technology and scientific superpower”.
Alan Mack, the shadow science secretary, accused Labor of cutting £1.3 billion in funding for “Britain’s first next generation supercomputer and AI research”, saying Labor was “delivering an analogue government in a digital age”. ” he said.
“AI certainly has the potential to transform public services, but Labour’s economic mismanagement and uninspiring plans will mean the UK will be left behind,” he added.
But Prime Minister Rachel Reeves said: “AI is a powerful tool that can help our economies grow, make public services more efficient and open up new opportunities that lead to improved standards of living.”
