The government has unveiled an AI Opportunities Action Plan, outlining 50 steps to further develop the AI market, uses and skills. The Prime Minister highlighted the benefits to UK productivity, jobs and investment with the recommendations outlined in the plan. 

Several measures from the action plan will be critical pillars for AI growth, including AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build AI infrastructure, with Culham in Oxfordshire listed as the site of the first of these. 

The government also announced the establishment of a dedicated AI Energy Council, chaired by the Science and Energy secretaries. This will work with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges that will fuel the technology’s development, to avoid a conflict of interest with the UK’s clean energy ambitions.

Public computing capacity will increase twentyfold, the government says, increasing the UK’s processing power. A National Data Library will be created to “safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development”.

Elsewhere in the document, there is a measure outlining the government’s approach to developing AI assurance in the UK by investing in new assurance tools, in part through an expansion of the AI Safety Institute’s systemic AI safety grants programme. The plan promises government-backed assurance tools that assess the efficacy of AI systems. 

AI skills are also a focus of the plan. The government intends to assess the size of the AI skills gap in the UK, boost AI training in schools and colleges, and ensure that workers are able to develop AI knowledge and training through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee programme. 

“AI will continue to change the labour market, although exactly how and when is unclear,” says the report. “What is certain is while some jobs will be replaced by AI, many will be augmented – and an unknown number will be created. Government should ensure there are sufficient opportunities for workers to reskill, both into AI and AI-enabled jobs and more widely.” 

It recommends that the UK learns from countries such as Singapore and South Korea, both of which are focusing heavily on AI skills. 

“AI has the potential to change all of our lives, but for too long we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us,” says Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary of State Peter Kyle. “With this plan, we become agents of that change.”

The UK already has strengths to tap into when it comes to AI, he says, building the UK’s status in global computer science and establishing the UK as the third largest AI market in the world.  

“This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI. That’s why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the UK so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today,” says Kyle. “This is how we’re putting our plan for change in motion.”

Esther Mallowah, ICAEW’s Head of Tech Policy, says: “The UK government has rightly recognised the significant growth opportunities that AI provides across the economy and the importance of being at the forefront of AI adoption. However, the technology by itself should not be viewed as a silver bullet that will solve the UK’s productivity and growth challenges.” 

For the UK government to achieve its intended goals, adoption must be responsible and ethical, Mallowah says. Risks such as accuracy and reliability of output, bias and copyright issues could have significant impacts on businesses and the rights of individuals, she says. “While the action plan touches on mitigating the risks, it only does so briefly. The challenges should be better reflected, with more actions to promote the trust and confidence needed for widescale AI adoption.”