Artificial Intelligence [AI] has managed to amass immense popularity, thanks to the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, the fervor around this sector took a whole new turn causing the community to fear its existence. Several governments stepped up to limit its growth but, the U.K. has taken a different route.
In a recent announcement, the U.K. prime minister and technology secretary revealed that the government would be funding the development of a new AI task force. A total of 100 million British pounds or $124.8 million will be allocated to the task force.
The task force will be assigned a set of objectives to achieve. The goals are to “ensure sovereign capabilities.” This means that the committee should make sure that AI would render public services, and promote the use of “safe and reliable foundation models.” Through this latest move, the Rishi Sunak-led government intends to highlight the region’s enthusiasm towards AI. In addition, it also overlays with the UK’s goal of being a world leader in science and technology by the year 2030. Elaborating on this “safe AI” task force, prime minister Sunak further stated,
“By investing in emerging technologies through our new expert taskforce, we can continue to lead the way in developing safe and trustworthy AI as part of shaping a more innovative UK economy.”
Will the U.K. become a leader in the AI game?
According to the announcement, the U.K. highlighted how AI has immense potential to influence sectors like healthcare and education. The government believed that the tech could speed up diagnoses, drug discovery, and development. With regard to education, it may change how teachers go about their daily tasks. This could give them more time to devote to providing quality instruction. This wasn’t all. The announcement further read,
“This technology is also predicted to raise global GDP by 7 percent over a decade, making its adoption a vital opportunity to grow the UK economy.”
Furthermore, U.K.’s latest move could certainly put the nation on top. The country is certainly aiding innovation in a secure way as opposed to curbing it.