Healey to use budget for 'distinctively British' AI push
Chancellor John Healey will use Wednesday's budget to commit hundreds of millions to AI, including security, chip design and biosecurity, The Guardian reports.
What you need to know
John Healey will use Wednesday's budget to commit hundreds of millions of pounds to a "distinctively British" AI approach, The Guardian reports. Plans include fresh funding for the AI Security Institute, AI chip design in Edinburgh, an AI Centre of Excellence in Manchester, £10m a year on jobs research and backing for up to £300m in public-private investment in an AI Biosecurity Lab.
- Healey said the budget would fund a distinctively British approach to AI that does not leave workers behind.
- The AI Security Institute will receive fresh investment as part of the measures.
- New funding is planned for AI chip design capability in Edinburgh and an AI Centre of Excellence in Manchester.
- The government would spend £10m a year studying how AI reshapes jobs and industry.
- The Treasury would back up to £300m in public-private investment in a new AI Biosecurity Lab.
Budget commitments
Chancellor John Healey will use Wednesday's budget to commit hundreds of millions of pounds to developing what he called a "distinctively British" approach to artificial intelligence, The Guardian reports. He said the measures would address both the technology's risks and its economic potential.
The plans include fresh investment for the AI Security Institute, funding for AI chip design capability in Edinburgh and a new AI Centre of Excellence in Manchester. The government would also spend £10m a year on understanding how AI will reshape jobs and industry.
Security and investment
The Treasury said it would back up to £300m in public-private investment in a new AI Biosecurity Lab intended to bring together scientific expertise against emerging biological threats. Healey said the budget would make the biggest ever investment to guard against cyber risks and the technology's disruptive potential.
He framed the spending around protecting workers and the national interest, and said he wanted to cut Britain's dependency on other countries advancing in AI. The budget is due against a volatile backdrop: the Middle East war has pushed up energy costs, and Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs as AI rollout helps it make efficiency gains.
What does the AI budget include?
It funds the AI Security Institute, AI chip design in Edinburgh, a Manchester AI Centre of Excellence, £10m a year on jobs research and backing for up to £300m in public-private investment in an AI Biosecurity Lab, The Guardian reports.
Sources & context
- John Healey pledges to use budget to harness power of AI to bolster Britain’s security ↗The Guardian
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