This week, the Prime Minister attempted to relaunch his Government in the new year by unveiling a pro-growth plan to turbocharge AI in the UK. The plan sets out a range of measures to help the UK develop and adopt artificial intelligence in many areas to, in Sir Keir’s own words, ‘mainline AI in the veins’ of the nation.
Among the pledges primed to benefit the health and life sciences sectors are the investment in a supercomputer to enhance the UK’s computing abilities, the creation of AI growth zones, and the establishment of a national data library to consolidate public sector data, including anonymised health information, to advance AI research and innovation.
Mr Starmer was coy when questioned on private companies’ access to citizens’ data, stressing that while it is important to keep control of the data the Government will not be overly defensive in its approach. However, it has been rumoured that ministers are considering allowing private companies to use NHS data commercially.
Technology companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl have pledged a £14 billion investment in the UK to develop the AI infrastructure necessary to unlock AI’s potential, creating 13,250 jobs nationwide.
