Rishi Sunak is poised to increase taxpayer spending on artificial intelligence chips and supercomputers to £400m as he strives to boost Britain’s technology credentials.
The Government is quadrupling a planned investment package to secure equipment for a national “AI Research Resource”, The Telegraph understands, which will also be used to launch a new facility in Cambridge and improve a site in Bristol.
The increased investment comes as the Prime Minister seeks to present Britain as a global hub for AI safety to world leaders at a summit at Bletchley Park on Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr Sunak’s ambitions for the project have grown dramatically in recent months, which has sparked a four-fold increase in the amount of taxpayer cash being spent on AI.
Vast computing resources are essential for developing and testing advanced AI systems, with thousands of high-end microchips and huge amounts of power needed to run large language models such as ChatGPT.
There are hopes that new supercomputing sites will substantially improve Britain’s capabilities in the testing and development of AI, which it is hoped will make the UK a leader in safely harnessing the technology.
Supercomputer plans
Mr Sunak last week announced that an AI Safety Institute would be set up in Britain to examine all risks posed by the technology, ranging from “social harms like bias and misinformation through to the most extreme”.
The Government hopes that the countries attending the Prime Minister’s summit this week will join in signing a communique committing to an international research network into so-called “frontier” AI systems, such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.
The AI Research Resource, first unveiled in March, is designed to help developers maximise AI’s potential as well as pioneering safety work.
The Telegraph revealed this summer that ministers had approved £100m investment for a supercomputer facility in Bristol, with US company Hewlett Packard Enterprise working with Bristol University on the project, dubbed “Isambard-AI”. However, officials have been pressing for more cash to be made available.
It is believed that the Bristol supercomputer, which will include more than 5,000 Nvidia AI chips, will take the lion’s share of spending. Intel will provide chips at a smaller facility in Cambridge – home of several of the UK’s top AI and tech companies.
The £400m investment is likely to come out of a £900m package previously outlined for the AI research resource and an “exascale” supercomputer in Edinburgh.
‘Critical research’
When the package was announced in March, a sum of only around £50m was expected to go to AI computing, but the rapid advances in the technology and growing concerns about potential misuse have led to more resources being thrown at the project.
The Government’s Frontier AI taskforce – a group of tech experts set up to test the systems – will this week present its findings to delegates at the Bletchley Park summit.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK AI Research Resource – which will include the new Isambard-AI supercomputer we announced last month – will support critical research into the safe development and use of AI.
“This is in line with our commitment to supporting a thriving computer environment which maintains the UK’s position as a leader across science, innovation and technology. Delivery of AIRR is subject to an ongoing commercial process.”
“The £900m investment we announced in March will provide a significant uplift in the UK’s computing capacity, supporting both the AIRR and a new exascale computer system.”
Charting a path toward international collaboration on AI research is a key ambition of Mr Sunak’s summit.
On Monday, G7 countries are set to agree on a code of conduct for companies developing advanced AI systems, which will be voluntary. Separately, Joe Biden is set to issue an executive order on how the US government should manage AI.
Mr Biden is skipping Mr Sunak’s summit, sending Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead. Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz are also not attending the event, although European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend. China’s diplomatic presence at the summit is unclear.
On Sunday, The Telegraph revealed that the Government is developing an AI chatbot with ChatGPT maker OpenAI that will be used to access public services.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
