britain plans to launch a scaled-down ai strategy amid budget constraints
2024-09-04
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
under tremendous financial pressure, the british government is developing a new, lower-cost artificial intelligence strategy, such as prioritizing the adoption of artificial intelligence technology in the public sector rather than investing directly in industry.
image source: internet
since taking office in july, prime minister starmer has been reviewing the costs of artificial intelligence and has scrapped a £1.3 billion investment plan for the technology that was drawn up by the previous conservative government, including an £800 million commitment to support the development of a supercomputer at the university of edinburgh.
while the spending is a relatively small figure in the broader ai sector, starmer’s government faces a backlash from industry leaders who say it shows the uk is becoming less interested in supporting innovation, especially compared with france, which is working to establish europe’s hub for generative ai and recently pledged to invest €2.5 billion to develop the technology domestically.
the british government is also considering canceling plans for its ai safety institute to open an office in san francisco, which was due to open this summer and would have cost employees more than $100,000 a head, one of the sources said.
it is reported that in july this year, science and technology minister khyer fired nitashan rajkumar, one of the co-founders of the ai safety institute, as a senior policy adviser. although it is not uncommon for a new government to hire its own advisers, some industry insiders believe that the dismissal was an unforced error. rajkumar announced his departure from the institute on x, but did not say that his contract had been terminated.
around the same time, starmer's government hired tech entrepreneur matt clifford, who was the lead organizer of the ai safety summit launched by conservative leader rishi sunak last year, to develop a new strategy. sources said clifford is expected to announce the strategy this month, just before the new government's autumn budget.
multiple sources also said khyle's goal is to push the public sector to adopt artificial intelligence as a means of improving efficiency and reducing costs, while cutting direct government investment in industry.
a government spokesperson said the government recognises the transformative power of artificial intelligence and remains committed to using the technology to create growth opportunities for people across the uk.
earlier, at a meeting in downing street, clifford met with about 10 representatives from the world's largest venture capital firms, including index ventures, lightspeed venture partners and sequoia capital, to discuss the uk government's artificial intelligence strategy. two people who attended the meeting said the focus of the meeting was on how the government can use artificial intelligence to improve public services. other topics included how the government can better support university spin-offs and how to make it easier for startups to recruit talent from abroad.
the british government said that in order to fill a £22 billion gap in public finances, it needed to make difficult decisions to cut costs across the board. kyle has said he is ready to adopt a bold artificial intelligence action plan that sets out the uk's future computing needs and how the government can achieve them. but some industry insiders said the move was not bold enough. "we have seen a serious reduction in ambition."
special contributor liu tao
