Amid indicators of a stagnating economic system, the UK goes all-in on AI. On Monday, British Minister Keir Starmer introduced a brand new . On the heart of the initiative are “AI Development Zones,” which the federal government plans to ascertain in de-industrialized areas all through the nation.
In these areas, the Labour authorities will fast-track planning approvals for knowledge facilities and provide higher entry to the nationwide power grid. Starmer mentioned the UK’s first AI Development Zone can be established in Culham, Oxfordshire, residence to the nation’s Atomic Power Authority. Extra zones will likely be introduced in the summertime.
On the identical time, Starmer’s authorities plans to extend state-owned compute capability by an element of 20, beginning with the “instant” development of a brand new supercomputer with “sufficient AI energy to play itself at chess half 1,000,000 instances a second.” As of November 2024, the UK has 14 supercomputers on the checklist, placing it behind — by a major margin — the US and China.
Moreover, the plan will see the federal government set up a Nationwide Knowledge Library, which it says will make the nation extra engaging to buyers by permitting personal business to “safely and securely unlock the worth of public knowledge.” Lastly, a brand new AI Power Council will work with power corporations to satisfy the ability calls for of the AI business in a means that’s in keeping with the federal government’s clear power technique.
“Synthetic Intelligence will drive unbelievable change in our nation. From lecturers personalising classes, to supporting small companies with their record-keeping, to dashing up planning functions, it has the potential to remodel the lives of working individuals,” Starmer mentioned. “However the AI business wants a authorities that’s on their aspect, one which received’t sit again and let alternatives slip by means of its fingers. And in a world of fierce competitors, we can’t stand by.”
Over the following 10 years, Starmer’s authorities estimates that its technique might generate as a lot as £47 billion ($57 billion) in annual financial development. The announcement comes after the UK economic system within the third quarter of final yr. From that perspective, making the nation extra engaging to exterior funding isn’t the worst thought — particularly with corporations like Microsoft planning to spend on new knowledge facilities this yr.
