Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a blueprint for the UK to ‘win the global race’ on artificial intelligence.
The government says AI will drive its Plan for Change, which aims to deliver a decade of national renewal by turbocharging growth and boosting living standards.
Describing the plan as a ‘marked move’ from the previous Conservative government’s approach of targeting AI with heavy regulation, the government said “the Prime Minister is throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind this industry”.
It has agreed to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his AI Opportunities Action Plan review last year.
This includes the creation of dedicated AI Growth Zones that speed up planning permission for AI infrastructure such as data centres and give these the necessary energy connections. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire.
The government said the plan will ‘mainline AI into the veins of this enterprising nation by revolutionising public services and putting more money in people’s back pockets’.
“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,” said Starmer.
“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.”
It comes as three major tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – have committed to £14 billion investment in the UK to build the AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK.
Vantage Data Centres – which is working to build one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses in Wales – plans to invest over £12bn in data centres across the UK – creating over 11,500 jobs in the process.
Kyndryl – the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider and a leading IT consultancy – announces plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years.
Nscale – one of the UK’s leading AI companies – has announced a $2.5bn investment to support the UK’s data centre infrastructure over the next three years. They have also signed a contract to build the largest UK sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, Essex by 2026.