Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what funding her Department is providing to help the UK tech sector increase the development of artificial intelligence.
We have invested more than £2.5 billion since 2014 and in 2021 published our National AI Strategy – a 10-year vision to make the UK an AI superpower by investing in our ecosystem, driving adoption of AI, and ensuring we get AI governance right.
In March 2023 we announced £900 million for an exascale supercomputer and AI research resource, confirmed £117 million for new Centres for Doctoral Training in AI to support hundreds more PhDs, and £100 million for BridgeAI – a programme that will drive use of AI in low-adoption sectors, such as construction.
And on 24 April 2023 the Prime Minister and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary announced £100 million in initial funding for the foundation model taskforce to build foundation model capability; ensure capabilities for key use cases; and ensure UK leadership in the safety and reliability of foundation models.