UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to provide a budget boost to Britain's growing artificial intelligence sector through a doubling of funding for the Alan Turing Institute, the national body for data science and artificial intelligence.
Despite being restricted in his scope for pre-election giveaways by the weakness of the public finances, the chancellor is still likely to unveil a $1 million five-year funding package.
Hunt To Get $1 Million Extra Funding
According to the Treasury, Turing, an organization founded in 2015 named after the pioneering computer scientist and mathematician who died in 1954, could use the funds to enhance data science and artificial intelligence.
The additional funds will go toward research in three areas where AI is seen to have a significant impact: improving national security and defense, revolutionizing healthcare, and safeguarding the environment.
Treasury sources said the funds would benefit the general population by improving healthcare and addressing biodiversity-related issues.
Hunt has clarified that he wants to make Britain the next Silicon Valley and a science superpower since taking office as chancellor in October 2022.
He has declared his intention to leverage the influence of the pension funds in Britain to emulate America's successful commercializing inventions.
Furthermore, Hunt believes that AI can help Britain's poor productivity record. According to recent studies, generative AI adoption can boost the world economy by $4.4 trillion annually.
Sources said the chancellor aims to harness the technological revolution to spur economic expansion and facilitate scientific breakthroughs in aerospace, health, and climate change, benefiting the entire UK.
With the additional funding, he believed Turing could significantly improve health and well-being in the UK by building on previous initiatives and utilizing the country's distinctive health data sources.
A Treasury source claimed that investing in this technology is crucial to growing the economy and delivering a brighter future for Britain, as the UK is home to a third of Europe's AI companies.
The source added that they are taking further steps to ensure they are at the forefront of shaping how technology transforms lives by backing the Turing Institute.
The UK is ranked fourth in an international league table of AI, slightly ahead of Canada, South Korea, and Israel and behind the US, China, and Singapore based on various factors measuring investment, innovation, and implementation.
Turing Institute to Advance AI Research
Turing collaborates with academia, industry, and government to advance world-class research and apply it to national and global challenges, build skills for the future, and drive an informed public conversation.
The institute is primarily funded by the government and strives to be the best place in the world for data science and AI research, collaboration, and business.
Its initiatives have included reducing the shipping sector's carbon footprint, working with the Office for National Statistics to improve the UK's health data, applying machine learning to understand Premier League players' online abuse, and using AI to map habitats in the Peak District.
Furthermore, the institute said, "Our aim is that ten years from now, the Turing will be internationally recognized as a center of research and innovation that harnesses the power of data science and artificial intelligence to make a lasting impact on the world's most pressing societal issues."
