“Our plan will make Great Britain the world leader” in AI, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the announcement of an action plan which should attract businesses, investors and boost a flagging economy. .
Fifty proposals to “unleash” the potential of this technology will be applied, according to a press release, starting with the creation of “AI growth zones”. Building permits will be issued quickly in order to build infrastructure and data storage centers (data centers).
This technology will bring about “incredible changes” in the medical field, public services or education. “But the AI industry needs a government that stands by it, that does not stand idly by and does not let opportunities escape it,” defended the Labor leader in this press release.
Creation of tens of thousands of jobs
This plan, which the Prime Minister will present in a speech on Monday, should make it possible to “attract AI companies, new investments and create new jobs to the United Kingdom,” said Finance Minister Rachel Reeves.
Three technology companies – Vantage Data Centres, Kyndryl and Nscale – have already committed to investing 14 billion pounds (17 billion euros) in the United Kingdom, notably to develop data storage centers, the government said. Their projects should, according to him, create nearly 13,000 jobs.
The first “AI growth zone” will be located in Culham, near the University of Oxford (south-east England). The government has also pledged to increase the UK’s computing capacity 20-fold by 2030, including creating a new “supercomputer”.
Economy at half mast
Labor believes that their conservative predecessors have emphasized too much the dangers of AI, to which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had devoted a summit in 2023, to the detriment of the benefits of this technology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who came to power in July, has made reviving the economy the priority of his mandate. But he is struggling to deliver on his promises with sluggish growth, rising borrowing costs and a falling pound sterling, which could lead to further tax rises or budget cuts.
