Artificial Intelligence: Plan to ‘unleash AI’ across UK revealed

Tech companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl have committed £14bn to build the relevant AI infrastructure in the UK.

This is in addition to the £25bn AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.

Vantage Data Centres is working on building one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses in Wales.

Kyndryl will create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years, forming a new tech hub.

Nscale has signed a contract to build an AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, by 2026.

The government says “AI Growth Zones” will be set up across the UK, with speedy planning proposals in place to create new infrastructure.

The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire and more will be announced this summer with a focus on de-industrialised areas.

“I want to find parts of the country where there is a real need for the jobs of the future because the jobs of the past have already started to dwindle and utilise the fact that there is often very good grid connections in those areas which can supply an excess of energy currently,” Kyle said.

Other parts of the plan include a new National Data Library to safely secure public data and an AI Energy Council led by Kyle and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband which will focus on the energy demands of the technology.

The Conservatives said the government’s plans “will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower”.

Accusing them of cutting £1.3bn in funding for “Britain’s first next-generation supercomputer and AI research”, shadow science secretary Alan Mak said Labour was “delivering analogue government in a digital age”.

“AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour’s economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind,” he added.

But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “AI is a powerful tool that will help grow our economy, make our public services more efficient and open up new opportunities to help improve living standards.”