Prime Minister unveils ambitious blueprint to turbocharge AI

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced an ambitious blueprint to position the UK as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), launching a comprehensive plan aimed at delivering a decade of national renewal through ground-breaking innovation.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan, unveiled on 13 January, outlines a series of transformative measures to harness the power of AI across public and private sectors. It aims to boost growth, improve living standards, and make the UK a magnet for global AI investment.

Key highlights of the AI plan

AI growth zones: Dedicated zones will expedite planning approvals for AI infrastructure, beginning in Culham, Oxfordshire.
Massive private investment: Leading tech firms, including Vantage Data Centres, Nscale, and Kyndryl, have committed £14 billion to AI projects, creating over 13,000 jobs.
Supercharged public sector: AI will streamline public services, cutting administrative tasks for teachers and NHS workers while improving efficiency and outcomes.
Compute capacity increase: Plans to build a supercomputer and increase computational capacity twentyfold by 2030.

The plan embraces all 50 recommendations from Matt Clifford’s landmark AI Opportunities Action Plan, with Whitehall’s full support to turn proposals into reality.

AI is already delivering benefits in sectors like healthcare, where it speeds up cancer diagnoses and enhances patient care. The government’s blueprint expands AI applications to planning consultations, road maintenance, and education, freeing up professionals to focus on their core duties.

Speaking at the launch, the Prime Minister said: “Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country.

“From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.

“Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change. That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people’s pockets, and transformed public services.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates AI could boost productivity by 1.5 percentage points annually, potentially adding £47 billion to the UK economy each year. To ensure the UK stays competitive, the plan introduces policies to attract global AI firms and foster local innovation.

Among the major investments announced are:

Vantage Data Centres will spend £12 billion on projects, including one of Europe’s largest data campuses in Wales, creating 11,500 jobs.
Kyndryl plans to create 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool within three years.
Nscale will invest $2.5 billion in data centre infrastructure, including the UK’s largest sovereign AI data centre in Essex by 2026.

The plan includes creating a National Data Library, an AI Energy Council, and a team of experts led by Matt Clifford and Nobel Prize winner Sir Demis Hassabis. It also integrates AI into the Industrial Strategy and the forthcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan.

Peter Kyle, Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, stated: “AI has the potential to change all of our lives but for too long, we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us. With this plan, we become agents of that change.  

“We already have remarkable strengths we can tap into when it comes to AI – building our status as the cradle of computer science and intelligent machines and establishing ourselves as the third largest AI market in the world.  

“This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI, that’s why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the UK so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today. This is how we’re putting our Plan for Change in motion.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: “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.

“This action plan is the government’s modern industrial strategy in action. Attracting AI businesses to the UK, bringing in new investment, creating new jobs and turbocharging our Plan for Change.”

The Action Plan sets the stage for Britain to seize AI’s transformative potential. From healthcare to infrastructure, education to energy, the UK’s vision for AI promises a decade of innovation, opportunity, and prosperity.