UCL academics praise UK’s new AI strategy as ‘positive shift’

ACADEMICS at University College London (UCL) who met with Sir Keir Starmer have welcomed the UK government’s new strategy on AI.

The prime minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan following a tour of UCL’s biochemical engineering labs on 13 January, announcing his ambition for the UK to be a “world leader” in the technology.

The government’s focus is on productivity, and for humans and machines to work side-by-side. Starmer said that AI “will drive incredible change” and that it “has the potential to transform the lives of working people”.

The latest AI plan represents a shift from the previous government’s emphasis on AI safety, marked by the AI safety summit in Bletchley Park in November 2023. In September 2023, Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman warned of the possibility to engineer biological weapons using AI. This was followed a month later by then-PM Rishi Sunak’s warning that “AI could make it easier to build chemical or biological weapons”.
Gary Lye, director of UCL’s Manufacturing Futures Lab and professor of biochemical engineering, told TCE: “Safety concerns cannot be ignored but the focus on the benefits of AI is a positive shift.”

The new government plan has attracted a commitment of £14bn (US$17.1bn) of investment from the private sector. The government predicts this will create 13,250 jobs, many of which will be based in data centres.

Peter Kyle, the UK’s science, innovation and technology secretary, said: “Putting AI to work right across the economy can help businesses cut waste, move faster, and be more productive.”