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The funding will go towards AI research aimed at tackling climate change, heathcare, and national security
Jeremy Hunt, the UK Chancellor, has announced a substantial commitment to the UK’s AI sector in the Spring Budget announcement yesterday, pledging £100 million in funding to The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and AI.
In a press release, the institute said the funding marks a “key milestone in the delivery of the Institute’s new strategy which sets out how it will use data science and AI to tackle some of the biggest issues facing society”.
The injection of £100 million will come over the next five years from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The Institute is predominantly government funded and is focussing on three areas when it comes to AI: environment and sustainability, health and defence, and national security, with the wider goal of being the “best place in the world for data science and AI research, collaboration, and business”.
“The Alan Turing Institute is at the forefront of our national AI capability and has helped to cement the UK’s position as a leader in this transformative technology,” said UKRI Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser.
“This new investment will ensure that the Turing can continue to explore the frontiers of AI, working across the research and innovation system to deliver the UK’s AI Strategy.”
“Our purpose is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence to change the world for the better and this £100 million investment will allow us to chart a new path over the next five years, working with our partners across the ecosystem to uncover solutions to society’s greatest challenges,” confirmed Dr Jean Innes, Chief Executive of The Alan Turing Institute.
The UK government is currently heavily investing in AI.
Back in October, the Prime Minister UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that taxpayer spending on AI chips and supercomputers is set to increase to £400 million as part of efforts to make the UK a global leader in cutting edge technology.
In a recent Global AI Index created by UK news source Tortoise, the UK was ranked fourth out of 62 countries, behind US, China and Singapore.
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