AI Opportunities action plan
On the 13th of January 2025, the British Government released their response the AI Action Plan. This response outlined their intentions to implement a range of recommendations to meet the steps in the AI Action Plan.
The response began with a opening foreword from the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who outlined the significant opportunities AI has for our future. Moreover, the foreword states the Government intention for a proactive approach, stating “they will not sit back passively and wait for change to come.” It is therefore with this Action Plan that the government are outlining their role in being proactive contestants in this AI Super race.
Governments Response to the AI Action Plan- Their Next Steps-
1. Building AI Infrastructure
The Government is planning to act on the previous recommendation to expand our sovereign compute capacity by 20X by 2030. To do this the following steps will be taken:
A- Deliver a new state of the art supercomputing facility, doubling the capacity of our national AI Research Resource. Plans for the site and suppliers begins this year.
B- The UK’s leading scientific computing resource (Archer 2) is being extended until November 2026.
C- In Spring 2025, the government will publish the Compute Strategy. In developing this, the government is planning to work alongside stakeholders to ensure the UK has all necessary AI Infrastructure for innovations.
2- AI Growth Zones
The Government are planning to create AI Growth Zones. These will be areas with enhanced access to power supplies and support for planning approvals. This will then accelerate the build of AI Infrastructure on UK soil. The first AI Growth Zone will be created in Culham (Headquarters of AI Atomic Authority) subject to an agreement of public-private partnership of the UKUAE’s fusion energy mission and the UK’s wider national AI Infrastructure. With this, the government will be seeking a private -sector partnership to develop the UK’s largest AI Data Centres.
These Growth Zones are intended to expand our AI Infrastructure and grow our AI industry. In addition, this will with no doubt have many benefits for the local communities through job creation and enhanced energy infrastructure.
3- AI Energy Council
To power the demands of AI and its new infrastructure, new energy solutions are needed. To identify these solutions the Science and Technology Secretary of State and the Energy Secretary will co-chair a new AI Energy Council.
The Councils role will be to provide expert insights into the energy needs of AI and will accelerate the development of new solutions.
4- National Data Library
The Government are also planning to unlock of public-sector data assets to support research in AI with the creation of a National AI Data Library. More information is due on this in due course.
5- AI Skills and Talent
To reach the nations AI ambitions, talent is needed. The creation of Skills England and the Curriculum and Assessment Review will up-skill the existing workforce and teach younger candidates the skills they will need for the future.
6- Regulation
The Government is planning to set out its approach on AI Regulation. The actions will include ensuring a secure copywrite regime is in place to support the AI sector and other creative industries.
In the plans to use AI to transform lives, the government is planning to adopt previous recommendations and implement a Scan, Pilot, Scale approach to AI adoption. AI champions will be assigned in particular sectors, highlighted in the industrial strategy.
Governments Next Steps-
The Government is expecting to continuously develop its response and targeted next steps of the AI Action Plan ahead of the Spring 2025 Spending Review.
Its approach to AI will be further outlined in the Industrial Strategy’s Digital and Technologies Sector Plan. In addition to properly monitor the changes and advancements in AI, the technology secretary of state has created an AI opportunities unit to regularly report to him on any advancements.
Take aways from the report
I think the main take away from this report, is that within the coming months we can expect a significant amount of advancements in the field of AI. With many of the recommendations set to implemented before Spring 2025 it is clear the Government are willing to act fast on these opportunities. Moreover, the steps taken in accordance with this AI Action Plan demonstrate positive developments within the field of AI, there are also some challenging concerns to be considered.
For one, the high energy prices within the UK position a roadblock in the development of energy-intensive AI infrastructure. This challenge may potentially drive companies to relocate to countries with more affordable energy. This point is critical as it makes it difficult for the UK to then compete for global leadership within AI, causing knock on effects for innovations such as a migration of talent to leading nations contributing to a lack of AI Talent for new ideas.