94Ha Viewpoint
The British government has unveiled an action plan to make Britain a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and revive its flagging economy.
Prime Minister Starmer wants to put AI at the heart of his economic growth goals, according to a statement released by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology on Sunday (January 12). If AI technology is fully adopted, it could increase productivity by 1.5% per year within 10 years, equivalent to an additional £47 billion (S$78.4 billion) in additional benefits per year.
Starmer’s government also announced that it would adopt 50 recommendations made in the “AI Opportunities Action Plan” report submitted to the government by venture capitalist Matt Clifford last year. These recommendations include facilitating the construction of data centers by speeding up the planning permission process and providing energy connections.
The government also plans to increase server capacity 20 times by 2030, including building “a brand new supercomputer with enough AI capabilities to play chess 500,000 times per second.” It said the proposals would mean the public sector would spend less time dealing with administrative work. It said hospitals were already using AI to help diagnose breast cancer faster and said it had the potential to spot potholes and help improve roads.
The statement quoted Starmer as saying: “Our plan will make Britain a world leader. That means more jobs and investment in the UK and more money in people’s pockets.”
Countries around the world are racing to make their countries AI hubs while balancing the need to impose some restrictions on the technology.
Data from Stanford University in the United States show that the UK is the world’s third-largest AI market, behind the United States and China, measured by indicators such as investment and patents.
However, Starmer’s Labour government has budgeted the highest tax increases since 1993, undermining some business confidence, and the Bank of England estimated last month that the UK economy did not grow in the fourth quarter of last year.
