The government launched an AI opportunities action plan last Monday that aims to ramp up AI adoption across the UK.
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, believes that the plan shows how the application of AI can be shaped within a modern social market economy.
The plan details how the government intends to lay the foundations that will further enable AI by:
1. Building sufficient, secure and sustainable AI infrastructure: AI requires a large amount of computational power that comes from large and complex computers in data centres.
2. Unlocking data assets in the public and private sectors: AI learns from data, so unlocked data sets, including scientific data sets, that contain data that isn’t currently used in training AI models could be important.
3. Training, attracting and retaining the next generation of AI scientists and founders: To meet anticipated future demand, tens of thousands of additional AI professionals could be needed.
It seems that the plan’s publication has gone down well with business and investors. Within 48 hours of publication, it was reported that more than £14 billion worth of investment into the UK and thousands of jobs had been confirmed.
Does AI have a significant part to play in our future and the growth of the UK economy? Time will tell but there certainly seems to be a will to find out.
To review the plan in full, see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-opportunities-action-plan/ai-opportunities-action-plan#lay-the-foundations
A report released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has further criticised HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) phone service. It found that nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being put on hold for more than an hour in the first 11 months of last year.
Recent economic developments have sparked concerns among UK businesses. Government borrowing costs surged in December to their highest levels in four years, and this has drawn heavy criticism of the Chancellor’s fiscal strategy.
