To some, Sir Keir Starmer’s Prime Ministerial kick-off contained certain provisions that could be considered anti-business.
To combat this, the PM made a promise about investment, jobs, and growth on the back of AI technology as a clear attempt to reposition his Labour government as growth- and business-focused, and to get a fairly sluggish economy motoring again.
Starmer’s Big AI Bet
The PM is effectively hanging his hat on the power of AI to galvanise and transform the UK’s economy, and wants to position his government as enablers of innovation. Starmer said:
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.
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.
He even went as far as to say he wants the UK to be the “world leader” in AI. Ambitious indeed!
There is definitely substance behind the rhetoric, though. The government announced that £14bn is set to be invested into the private sector, creating around 13,000 jobs; mostly construction roles to build new data and infrastructure, and a smaller number of more technical roles.
They hope this investment can inject £47bn into an economy that largely trended downwards last year, after a promising start to 2024.
No Half Measures: Labour’s 50/50 AI Vision
Starmer’s Labour is diving in at the deep end and implementing all fifty of Max Clifford’s recommendations following his 2024 report. These measures are designed to position the UK at the forefront of AI innovation and productivity, and include:
- The establishment of AI growth zones, which will benefit from streamlined planning decisions
- A large expansion in computing capacity
- A new national data library
- The creation of an AI energy council
- The development of a UK team for homegrown AI capabilities
These, along with the other recommendations, should hopefully turbocharge economic growth, boost public services and improve national security.
The implementation of these recommendations forms part of the government’s three-pillar approach to turbocharging AI.
The pillars are:
- Laying the foundations: Growth zones meet atomic energy, and building a supercomputer with impressive AI chess-playing capabilities.
- Boosting adoption across public and private sectors: Making sure both government and business actually use AI – with a new tech team leading the charge and ministers targeted on making it happen.
- Keeping ahead of the pack: An elite team will accommodate tech firms; providing the resources they need to make the UK their AI home.
A Cautiously Optimistic Private Sector
The PM’s announcement was broadly welcomed in the private sector.
Cisco UK & Ireland CTO Chintan Patel was optimistic, but struck a note of caution about the lack of readiness of most UK organisations to fully harness the potential of AI:
Cisco welcomes the recommendations laid out in ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’ and is encouraged that the government has responded so positively to the proposals from Matt Clifford. Having a clearly defined roadmap is critical for the UK to achieve its ambition to become an AI superpower and a leading destination for AI investment.
“We are at an inflection point with AI; what we do now will shape the next decade and beyond,” Patel explained, “advances in AI are changing how we live, work and engage with public services, but there are foundational aspects that we must address now – from the infrastructure these models are built on, to the security that is core in ensuring models work as intended and data remains secure, and the skills required in the workforce to truly benefit from this technology.”
“The promise of AI is immense, but we are still in its infancy with our most recent AI Readiness Index revealing that only 10 per cent of UK organisations are fully ready to capture AI’s potential,” concluded Patel.
Tech Lawyer: “Don’t ‘Play Poker’ With AI Safety”
There was a word of caution from some business sectors. Wayne Cleghorn, Data Protection, Cybersecurity and AI Partner at Excello Law, said:
When talking about AI, economic growth and innovation, we should not make safety the bogey man. All can – and should – co-exist in a virtuous circle. If we are not saying safety first, are we saying unsafety first or high-risk AI poker playing first?
Cleghorn also added that “words matter,” remarking how “the term AI safety is vague and imprecise at best.”
“We should say what we mean. Safety includes data protection, privacy, cybersecurity, accountable supply chains, environmental stewardship and high-quality inputs into artificial intelligence systems to reduce harms. These ingredients build trust, effectiveness and resilience, which are net positives,” noted Cleghorn.
Racing to be an AI superpower is an admirable ambition; but racing there responsibly is imperative.
