UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will unveil an action plan on Monday to make the UK a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI). His strategy involves revitalising the economy by deploying artificial intelligence across the country with the support of the civil service.
The plan, which Starmer will unveil in his speech, includes 50 proposals to “unlock” the technology’s potential, the statement said, starting with the creation of “AI growth zones.” The British prime minister said the plan would make the UK a world leader in AI, a technology that will lead to “incredible change” in medicine, public services and education.
UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said:
“The plan should attract AI companies to the UK, new investors and create new jobs.”
Three tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Kyndryl and Nscale – have already pledged to invest £14 billion (about $17.1 billion) in the UK, mainly in developing data centres, the government said. Their projects will create more than 13,000 jobs, Reeves added.
The UK government expects the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence systems to lift productivity in the national economy by 1.5% annually and boost GDP by $57bn annually over ten years.
The government has also pledged to increase the country’s computing power 20-fold by 2030, in part through the creation of a new “supercomputer.” Labour believes its Conservative predecessors over-emphasised the dangers of artificial intelligence, to which former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dedicated a summit in 2023. Starmer, who took power in July, has made revitalising the economy a priority of his tenure.
