The Prime Minister has agreed to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan.’
AI is already being used across the UK – in hospitals to deliver better, faster, and smarter care; spotting pain levels for people who can’t speak; diagnosing breast cancer quicker; and getting people discharged faster, for instance. This is already helping deliver the Government’s mission to build a future-proof NHS.
Unveiling details of the Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan on January 13, 2025, the Prime Minister stated that AI could transform the lives of working people. For example, the Government cited that it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to ‘get Britain building’, help drive down admin for teachers, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads.
Further, the Government believes it could help lead to economic benefits for working people. The IMF estimates 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 to the UK each year over a decade.
The dedicated plan, the Government said, ‘mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation’ – revolutionising our public services and putting more money in people’s back pockets..
“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,” said Prime Minister, Kier Starmer.
“But 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.”
The plan comes as three major tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – have committed to £14 billion investment in the UK to build an AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of the technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK. This is in addition to the £25 billion in AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.
Looking ahead, the plan also includes initiatives that will help make the UK the number one place for AI firms to invest, which the Government said is vital if Britain is to be at the forefront of this industry and be a changemaker rather than a change-taker. The key changes include:
- Forging new AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire.
- Increasing the public compute capacity by twentyfold to give the UK the processing power it needs to embrace this new technology - this starts immediately, with work starting on a brand new supercomputer.
- Matt Clifford has been appointed as advisor to the PM on AI opportunities, bringing together a team across the Government and DSIT to seize the opportunities of AI and build the UK’s sovereign capabilities. Nobel Prize-winner, Sir Demis Hassabis will also provide expertise to the government to help the UK seize the opportunities of AI.
- Creating 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, working with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges which will fuel the technology’s development.
This Action Plan is also at the heart of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and the first plank of the upcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan, which is set to be published in the coming months.
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