Ahead of a tight autumn budget, the British Labour government is developing a new, cost-cutting artificial intelligence strategy that puts the public sector’s adoption of the technology ahead of direct industry investment.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration has been examining the expenses associated with AI since assuming office in July. The previous Conservative government had proposed investing 1.3 billion pounds ($1.72 billion) in related technologies, of which 800 million pounds was to be used to build a supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh. This investment has already been shelved.
Although £1.3 billion may not seem like much in the context of AI, industry leaders criticised Starmer’s government, arguing that it shows that Britain is losing interest in fostering innovation.
In contrast, France, becoming known as a generative AI hub in Europe, recently pledged to invest 2.5 billion euros ($2.77 billion) in the country’s own research and development of the technology.
According to a source close to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the British government is also considering abandoning plans to open an AI Safety Institute office in San Francisco. According to a Reuters story, the office was initially scheduled to open during the summer, and hiring would have taken place under market rates, estimated to be upwards of $100,000 per employee.
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