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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories for this weekly newsletter.
The author is the prime minister of the UK
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation. It is not an upcoming technology. It is already here, transforming people's lives materially. It prevents sickness in our NHS. There are new companies that are interested in our economy. It pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery in our universities. And it charges this government's plan to transform the country.
Take NHS waiting times. We'll use AI to cut through filling appointments for patients who can no longer make them and rescheduling. Or take your children's education. We will increase opportunities for teachers to use AI to personalize lessons specifically for your child's needs. The possibilities are endless. AI can support small businesses with record keeping. It can detect holes quickly. It could help speed up planning applications to get Britain rebuilding. It continues. In the coming years, no aspect of our society will remain unaffected.
Britain should be happy about this. First, it offers a credible prospect of a long-desired increase in public sector productivity. Nurses, social workers, teachers, police officers – for millions of frontline workers, AI can give the precious gift of time. This means they can refocus on the care and connection aspects of their work that often get buried under management. That's the incredible irony of AI in the public sector. It provides an opportunity to make services feel more human.
Equally, as the third largest AI market in the world, Britain is well placed to take advantage of the growth opportunities. Many blue-chip AI companies already call Britain home. Our universities are full of scientific talent. We have a growing technology program and some of the best entrepreneurs in the world. Ours AI The security infrastructure is truly world-class. And our values of democracy, free trade and the rule of law are well suited to this test. Our values are critical to the free exchange of ideas needed to advance the potential of AI.
However, we cannot sit back apathetically and wait for the competition to arrive. The global race for AI leadership is getting faster and faster. Other countries will make AI breakthroughs and send them to the world. Others will be left to buy those successes and import them. I don't believe the government should do anything or be neutral about this – this is the bread and butter of the industry policy. AI is the biggest force of change in the world right now. I intend to use it to usher in a golden age of civil service reform. And I am determined that the UK will be the best place to start and scale an AI business. I know the growth in this area cannot be led by the government. But it is entirely the responsibility of the government to ensure that the right conditions are in place.
That's why, just days before our election, I commissioned venture capitalist Matt Clifford to develop a plan to harness the unlimited power of AI. Today, we are launching that plan and driving forward the results.
We will create new growth areas for AI and breathe new life into former industrial sites across the country. We will increase public sector computing – the engine of AI power – by at least 20. We will establish the gold standard for data access, with a National Library, clear and reliable copyright management, and a new commitment to openness. capacity for NHS data generation. And we're going to bulldoze through incredible restrictions on our planning system that prevent billions from being invested in data centers and AI-dependent grid connectors.
Make no mistake – these reforms are already beginning to bear fruit. Only on Monday, Vantage Data Centers confirmed that it will invest more than £12bn in new data centers across the country, including building one of Europe's largest data centers in Wales. That should create 11,500 jobs in AI and construction. And it's a sign of things to come.
Because Britain shouldn't just be excited about AI – it needs to be convinced. We don't need to go the US or EU way of managing AI – we can go our own way, taking a different British approach that will test AI long before we regulate, so that everything we do is balanced and based on science. And alongside that, a promise to investors of the stability, pragmatism and common sense they can expect from British democracy.
In short, this is our message to anyone working on the AI frontier: look to Britain. Our desire is to be the best government partner for you anywhere in the world. We see the future, run into it and support our builders. Because we know that AI has arrived as the ultimate force for change and renewal of the nation.