The government has announced billion of pounds of additional investment in AI to drive growth, create jobs and spread prosperity.
A new AI strategy is being unveiled to help AI supercharge scientific discovery. This will be backed by up to £137 million in government funding. It will begin by focussing on harnessing AI to speed up the research of new drugs and treatments.
The AI for Science Strategy positions the UK to benefit from the transformation of scientific research by AI.
It has two objectives: to develop leading capabilities in AI-driven science, and to ensure the UK retains its position of global scientific leadership.
The strategy is centred around: developing a data landscape that facilitates transformative research; ensuring the right researchers have access to compute resource at sufficient scale; building research communities made up of truly interdisciplinary teams; and ensuring we capitalise on rapid developments in autonomous laboratory infrastructure and general-purpose and specialist AI science tools.
The government will also be offering more free compute to British researchers and British startups, so they can so they can train new AI models and deliver scientific breakthroughs.
A new AI Growth Zone has been announced for South Wales. £10 billion of investment will unlock at least 5,000 jobs, including in industrial heartlands like the former Ford Bridgend Engine Plant.
Venture capitalist James Wise is set to chair the Sovereign AI Unit, which will be backed by almost £500 million in investment to help build and scale AI capabilities. The unit will bring together government, industry and investors, to become the go-to fund for high potential start-ups and scale-ups in the UK.
Furthermore, new AI ambassadors will help to maximise the benefits of AI for Britain. For example, Nobel prize winning British Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Simon Johnson will act as a standard bearer with public services and businesses to help them take up AI technology to boost productivity.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Liz Kendall said: "We are ambitious for our country and believe Britain’s best days lie ahead. Today we’re announcing a package of measures that ensure we seize the opportunities to get jobs and growth in every part of the country.
"The backing by international investors today is a vote of confidence in the UK – and we’re determined to do even more to ensure we are backing British businesses, workers and researchers to benefit from the opportunities AI brings. This is about bringing jobs, opportunities and hope to the people and places that need it most, delivering on our promise of change."
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: "Wales will now have 2 brand-new AI Growth Zones bringing thousands of jobs to both North and South Wales and driving economic growth across the country.
"South Wales is already the home of a growing tech industry and this major investment in the region will help cement the UK’s place as a global leader in AI."
