The new Labour government has shelved the £1.3 billion the Conservative government had promised for technology and artificial intelligence (AI) projects, the BBC reports.
This includes £800 million to build an exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh and a further £500 million for AI research resources to fund AI computing power.
Both funds were announced within 12 months of each other.
The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSIT) said the funding was promised by the previous administration but was never allocated in the budget.
The Conservatives argued that departments had underspended under their leadership.
Those affected were notified by Secretary of State Peter Kyle.
“The government is facing billions of pounds of unfunded commitments and is making difficult but necessary spending decisions across all departments,” DSIT said in a statement.
“This is essential to restore economic stability and deliver on the national mandate of growth.”
The company added that it remains “fully committed” to building out its technology infrastructure in the UK.
“The fact is that at the time the election was called, ministers had been informed by officials that departments were likely to underspend this year’s budget,” shadow minister Andrew Griffiths said.
“The government’s commitment to science, research and innovation was outstanding, including the UK’s leadership in AI.”
The future of Edinburgh’s exascale supercomputer is currently unclear.
There are only a few of these incredibly powerful machines in existence in the world, with earlier versions kept in storage in Bristol.
The new funding was announced in October last year, and the University of Edinburgh has already spent £31 million on building housing for it.
It was considered a priority project by the previous administration.
At the time, the university said the machine would be 50 times faster than any current computer in the UK.
“Exascale will help researchers model every aspect of the world, test scientific theories, and improve products and services in areas including artificial intelligence, drug discovery, climate change, astrophysics and advanced engineering,” the company says on its website.
A university spokesman told the BBC: “The University has been a leader in supercomputing in the UK for decades.”
“The company stands ready to work with the UK government to support the next phase of this technology in the UK, delivering benefits for industry, public services and society,” it added.
DSIT announced last week that it had asked Matt Clifford, one of the organisers of the first AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park in November 2023, to develop an action plan to identify new “AI opportunities”.
The technology sector is generally considered to be a valuable part of the UK economy and therefore important to growth.
In a recent report, technology network Tech Nation predicted the market will be worth $1.1 trillion (£863bn) in the first quarter of 2024.
