UK: The Next AI Superpower?

January 13th, 2025- Starmer unveiled the Labour government's plan to revolutionise Britain using AI. Here are the details, plans, and goals.

On January 13th, 2025, Keir Starmer announced the UK Government’s plan to supercharge the UK AI industry and boost public sector productivity. It was long-awaited; with the Clifford Report having been commissioned mere days after Starmer’s election. The Clifford Report, or the “AI Opportunities Action Plan”, comprises 50 recommendations for AI innovation within the UK. In this insight, we’ll go over the details of the Labour government’s pledge.

Why is AI investment needed?

The Labour government have faith that AI will iron out some of the UK’s most disruptive blockages within public services. In Starmer’s announcement, he highlighted examples like NHS waiting times, schooling, and pothole repair as targets for AI innovation. He firmly believes that the possibilities for AI in UK public services are endless, not to mention sorely needed.

The phrasing Starmer used is interesting. He spoke as though confident that the Labour government’s investment in AI is actually rather an investment in UK people. The hope is that AI development in areas like healthcare and education will relieve burdensome administrative tasks from key frontline workers who have been stretched thin for decades. This will allow them to “refocus on the care and connection aspects of their job”, which mean public services will feel more human.

What is the plan?

They will begin by implementing ‘AI growth zones’ and increasing public sector compute over the next five years. By joining two other advanced machines, the UK government plan to create a new supercomputer. To be used almost exclusively for AI projects in public services and academia.

Additionally, the proposed National Data Library is promised to be the solution for unlocking the ginormous potential of our NHS data. This would allow researchers and AI developers access to anonymised patient data. There is hope that by training LLMs on this data, we can create life-saving medical breakthroughs for UK citizens and the world. Of course, this data will have to be stringently safe-guarded. But Starmer does think it is time we used it, as an overly defensive stance with patient data is inhibitory for real life-changing progress.

The 50 recommendations fall into several categories

1. Building sufficient, secure, and sustainable infrastructure to support AI development. Primarily through investment, increasing AIRR capacity, and establishing AI Growth Zones that will facilitate the construction of data centres.
2. Unlocking data assets in the public and private sector. Identifying at least 5 “high impact data sets” to stock the new National Data Library; make moves to shape what and how new data is collected; and incentivising the unlocking/curation of private data sets.
3. Training, attracting and retaining the next generation of AI scientists and founders. The UK government aim to address the skills gap; support Higher Education Institutions to increase the numbers of AI graduates; increase diversity in the talent pool; and launch a “flagship” undergraduate and masters AI scholarship.
4. Enabling safe and trusted AI development and adoption through regulation, safety and assurance. They will grow the AI Safety Institute, fund regulation, invest in assurance tools; and much more.
5. Adopt a “Scan > Pilot > Scale” approach in government. To “Scan” they shall appoint AI leads and cross-government scanners that will be looking for the best opportunities for AI implementation. “Pilot” will involve the consistent use of a framework for sourcing AI, access to a rapid prototyping capability, and consistent availability of rich data and external AI talent. “Scale” will be a streamlined service for successful Pilots to scale and deploy efficiently.
6. Enable public and private sectors to reinforce each other. They will smartly make use of the private sector AI ecosystem and create new opportunities within it for innovation. They will also create an “AI Knowledge Hub” stocked with best-practise guidance, case studies, and open-source solutions.
7. Address private-sector-user adoption barriers. Appointing AI Sector Champions aims to support the adoption of AI across the economy and country.
8. Advancing AI. Maximise the UK’s state in frontier AI; through a new government function that will support the plans listed above.

UK in 2030 – a global AI leader

Starmer’s goal is clear: to make the UK a hub of AI development. He wants to step past the curiosity and caution that keeps progress stagnant. Starmer believes, if given the right tools, the UK can lead the innovations. The alternative is that we lag behind and are left to import them.

This plan aims to create an estimated 13,250 jobs, unclog our battered public services, and boost the UK’s living standards. As workers in the tech and AI industry, it is difficult not to feel encouraged. It seems the UK government are finally waking up to the concrete benefit we know AI can deliver.

As the IMF estimate, AI in the UK could create productivity gains worth £47 billion each year over a decade. Though reaching these huge figures will take time, it seems a new path for AI in the UK has been forged.

Can Fidra Analytics help you?

The next few years of AI in the UK will be fast-paced and innovative. Fidra Analytics can help you join the AI frontier, and not be left a mere spectator to the developments.

Starmer is absolutely right when he says that AI can help industries and services feel more human. When freed from tedious administrative tasks, human agents can refocus on the parts of their jobs that require connection and care. We have created numerous AI solutions for businesses looking for operational efficiency and loosening jams in workflows. If you would like to learn more, check out our socials. We post case studies on all our key projects, so our clients can understand how we work. Or, email info@fidra.ai to arrange an exploratory call with us.

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