The UK Government is set to develop an AI hardware plan to secure Britain’s capability in chips and the semiconductor technologies that underpin the full AI hardware stack.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said there must be a “decisive move” towards backing more British tech companies as AI reshapes global power, security and prosperity. She warned that nations which fail to master the defining technology of their age risk ceding control over their security and economic future.
She said history shows that the countries which pull ahead are those that master the defining currency of their age, adding that such currency is now chips, computing power and artificial intelligence.
The Tech Secretary noted that 70 per cent of global AI compute is now controlled by just five companies. Britain is uniquely placed to flourish in this new era because of its huge AI strengths and deep international alliances, she said.
The Technology Secretary said:
“This UK Government believes AI Sovereignty is not about isolationism or attempting to pull up the drawbridge and go it alone. We will continue to use the best technology and welcome inward investment because that’s what our public services and economy demand.
“If you want leverage for your country, you need to be a keystone in the global tech architecture – an indispensable partner. This requires two key shifts in our approach.
“First, a decisive move towards backing more British AI companies, especially in areas where we have real strengths. And second, by working more closely with our international partners, particularly other so-called middle power nations, including on setting the standards for how AI is deployed.”
The Technology Secretary rejected calls to pause the development of artificial intelligence, describing such a move as “a double betrayal” of British talent and British interests. Warning that retreating from progress would mean retreating from the world, the minister argued that the real choice facing the country is not between a world with AI and one without, but between a Britain that shapes its own AI future and one left at its mercy.
She pointed to a new generation of British founders and investors committed to building ambitious and responsible AI, alongside a government prepared to move quickly and work in new ways, citing the AI Security Institute and Sovereign AI as examples.
