Government pledges £100 million for AI taskforce

Initial funding will go to building infrastructure, and the public sector

The UK government has pledged £100 million to form a Foundation Model Taskforce, whose focus will be developing AI to solidify the UK's standing as a science and technology leader by 2030.

Foundation models, such as the large language models ChatGPT and Google Bard use, are AI systems that have been trained on vast data sets. They can be employed for a broad range of tasks, from prose writing to image generation.

In its announcement of the taskforce, the government said, "Research suggests that the broad adoption of such systems could triple national productivity growth rates."

The worldwide adoption of AI systems is expected to boost global GDP by 7% in the next decade.

The new taskforce will work with the tech sector to enhance foundation models' safety and reliability. It is hoped that doing so will bolster public trust in AI systems and facilitate their adoption.

The taskforce will initially target scientific and commercial aspects of AI technology, with the ultimate goal of supporting businesses and other entities that utilise AI systems.

The government believes this investment will contribute to the development of the UK's 'sovereign' national capabilities.

The taskforce will allocate the £100 million towards developing foundation model infrastructure and public service procurement, to encourage domestic innovation.

The first pilots focused on public services are expected to launch within the next six months.

The new AI taskforce was inspired by the success of the Covid-19 vaccine unit at the peak of the pandemic, and has been established as part of the Integrated Review Refresh.

The group will report directly to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan, underscoring the importance the government gives to the initiative.

A taskforce chair is expected to be announced this summer.

The Prime Minister and Technology Secretary will receive guidance from Matt Clifford, who chairs the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency, in the appointment of a chair.

"Harnessing the potential of AI provides enormous opportunities to grow our economy, create better-paid jobs, and build a better future through advances in healthcare and security," said Rishi Sunak.

"By investing in emerging technologies through our new expert taskforce, we can continue to lead the way in developing safe and trustworthy AI as part of shaping a more innovative UK economy."

AI remains a topic of interest to policymakers, industry leaders, researchers and the public worldwide.

The technology is under the spotlight for policymakers, and firms using AI in their operations are seeing tangible benefits in terms of costs and revenue.

The sudden surge in popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted officials worldwide to explore how they can leverage similar technology. At the same time, they are looking at to prevent its misuse.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced that his agency will establish a taskforce aimed at using AI to enhance national security.

The US taskforce will apply Ai across a range of functions, from safeguarding critical infrastructure to screening cargo for contraband products.

Mayorkas highlighted AI's transformative potential, noting that it has the power to significantly alter the threat landscape.