UK PM Starmer to outline plan to make Britain world leader in AI

13/1/2025 12:13

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say on Monday he wants the UK to become the world leader for artificial intelligence, promising to create special zones for data centres and encouraging more graduates to study technology-focused courses.



Starmer will say he wants to put AI at the heart of his ambition to grow the economy, while the government will claim if the technology is fully adopted it could increase productivity by 1.5% a year, worth an extra 47 billion pounds ($57 billion), annually over a decade.



Ahead of a speech in London by Starmer on AI, the government said it will adopt all the 50 recommendations set out in the report "AI Opportunities Action Plan" by venture capitalist Matt Clifford, submitted to the government last year.



This includes making it easier to build data centres by accelerating planning permission and giving them energy connections. The first such centre will be built in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to Britain's Atomic Energy Authority.



"Our plan will make Britain the world leader," Starmer was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. "That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in people's pockets."



Countries across the world are competing to turn their countries into AI hubs, while balancing the need for some restrictions on the technology.