Yesterday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a blueprint outlining the government’s approach to “turbocharging” AI and what tangible steps the UK will take to remain competitive.
Here is a summary of the key points:
• AI to drive the Plan for Change, helping turbocharge growth and boost living standards
• public sector to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering the services working people rely on
• dedicated AI Growth Zones to speed up planning for AI infrastructure
• £14 billion and 13,250 jobs committed by private leading tech firms following AI Action Plan
The message is clear: the UK government is setting out a comprehensive strategy to embrace AI with a significant investment of £14 billion committed by the private sector on top of the existing £25 billion committed at the International Investment Summit. For context, the UK’s entire national defence spending was about £54 billion last year (2% of GDP).
“public sector to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering the services working people rely on”
This point, while not aimed at Universities, exactly describes the mission statement at CriticiseAI – enabling teaching professionals to spend less time doing admin work and more time engaging students. We seek to improve the student experience, reduce marking workloads and improve Universities’ overall operating efficiency.
The recent announcement indicates a strong signal to the public and private sectors that AI is the long-term plan. The academic world will have to move faster than it traditionally has to maintain relevance in a world that now changes monthly.
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