UK announces action plan to up usage of AI for growth

The UK plans to “unleash” artificial intelligence (AI) across the country to deliver a decade of national renewal. 

Announcing the AI Opportunities Action Plan on Monday, UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, is throwing the full weight of the government behind this industry by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his AI Opportunities Action Plan. 

Clifford has been appointed as advisor to the PM on AI opportunities, bringing together a team across the Prime Minister’s office and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to seize the opportunities of AI and build the UK’s sovereign capabilities. Nobel Prize winner Sir Demis Hassabis, Co-Founder & CEO, Google DeepMind, will also provide expertise to the government in this regard. 

The plan will also include the creation of a new National Data Library to safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development.

A dedicated AI Energy Council, chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries, will also be established.  

The council will work with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges which will fuel the technology’s development - this will directly support the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower by tapping into technologies like small modular reactors. 

Starmer has instructed his Cabinet to drive AI adoption and growth in their sectors, making that a top priority for their departments.  

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The plan is expected to lay the foundations for AI growth and boost adoption in existing private and public sectors, and keep the UK ahead of the pack internationally, the government said in a statement.  

AI growth zones 

One of the priorities will be setting up AI growth zones. These will be areas across the country that will speed up planning approvals for building data centres, give them better access to the energy grid, and draw investments from around the world.  

The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire – home to the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority. Culham will serve as a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy like fusion can power the country’s AI ambitions.  

More zones will be announced later in the year, with a particular focus on de-industrialised areas of the country with access to power and strong support from local government.  

That means local jobs, improved communities, and a growing economy – all of which puts more money in people’s pockets, the release said.  

The government also plans to build a new supercomputer with enough AI compute power to play itself at chess half a million times a second. This is part of the plan to increase compute capacity twenty-fold by 2030 – supercharging our capacity to power AI products.  

Compute strategy 

The government’s 10-year compute plan also includes a commitment to rapidly develop and implement a long-term compute strategy that will bring together the key ingredients for AI – compute, data, and skills – to keep the UK at the forefront of the technology and attract the best brains in the world.  

That gives the industry the long-term stability it needs to choose the UK as the place to invest – helping drive up growth and deliver our plan for change, the statement said.  

Taken together, this package will set the UK on course to fully embrace the potential of AI – making it work for the country, the release added. 

Another major focus area will be boosting AI adoption across public and private sectors. A new digital centre of government is being set up within the DIST for this purpose.  

This is expected to revolutionise how AI is used in the public sector to improve citizens' lives and make government more efficient. The centre will scan for new ideas, pilot them in public sector settings, and then scale them as far as they can go.  

The government said backing AI to the hilt could also lead to more money in the pockets of working people.  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that – if AI is fully embraced – it can boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year. If fully realised, these gains could be worth up to an average £47 billion (S$78.5 billion) to the UK each year over a decade, the release said. 

“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,” Starmer said.