The Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that the UK will “achieve the fastest AI adoption in the G7” as she set out the three biggest opportunities for economic growth in the UK.
She also outlined the UK's ambition to lead the Quantum revolution, which the UK Government says could create more than 100,000 UK jobs and generate £212 billion of economic impact over the next two decades.
UK AI and quantum technologies will receive £2.5 billion, it added.
At the Chancellor’s Mais lecture she set out that AI – along with closer ties with Europe and regional growth – are the biggest opportunities in the UK to get the economy growing.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:
“In this changing world, Britain is not powerless. We can shape our own future. Our method is stability, investment and reform – through an active and strategic state.
“Today, I am making three big choices on the greatest growth opportunities for Britain in the decade to come: growth in every part of Britain, AI and innovation, and a deeper relationship with the EU.
“Our plan is clear. To build for growth, to champion innovation, and to make Britain the place where the industries of the future are created.”
On AI, she said:
“AI is the defining technology of our era. The choice is this: we can bury our heads in the sand and leave it to other countries – whose values may differ from ours – to shape and own this technology. We can leave it to the market alone, and let the balance of risk and reward be determined by a super-wealthy few. Or we can chart our own course.
“That's why I am setting out an ambitious plan for the UK to achieve the fastest AI adoption in the G7. In a world defined by technological change, Britain cannot afford to stand still. With this strategy, I believe we can approach the future with confidence – with the technologies of the future invented, built and deployed here in Britain.”
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the new investment from the National Quantum Computing Centre in Oxford.
The new quantum computer procurement programme will help companies prove there is demand for their services, raise additional capital and make more technological progress.
The package for AI and quantum includes:
- A £500 million Sovereign AI Fund is set to be launched in April at Wayve. Sovereign AI will give British companies access to funding, compute and other support to compete and succeed globally.
- A record £2 billion to upgrade the UK’s quantum capabilities, including a first-of-its-kind procurement programme worth up to £1 billion to procure commercial-scale quantum computers.
- An extra £13.8 million will be injected into the UK’s 5 National Quantum Research Hubs, researchers working in healthcare, clean energy, and national security projects will be among the first to get access to the most powerful technology in the world.
- A further £12 million will ensure quantum researchers have the skills they need to translate their work into real-world impact through a dedicated commercialisation skills centre – to help bring ideas from the lab into the real world.
