PM unveils AI Opportunities Action Plan

Author: Simon Rowley

The Prime Minister has unveiled the Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, committing £14 billion in investment into ‘game-changing’ artificial intelligence and creating 13,250 jobs.

The IMF estimates that AI could increase productivity across the UK by as much as 1.5 percentage points each year, if the technology is fully embraced. These gains may be worth an average of £47 billion to the UK economy every year for over a decade.

As part of the plan, the government is creating new AI Growth Zones to fast-track the building of AI infrastructure, starting in Culham and Oxfordshire. These zones will speed up planning permission and generate energy connections needed to power AI.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says, “Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.

“But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side; one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.”

The AI Opportunities Action Plan takes forward the 50 recommendations set out by AI expert Matt Clifford, providing the full support of the government.

The plan re-enforces the UK commitment to become a global leader in AI, learning from the US and EU’s approach to lead innovation and deliver long-term stability for businesses.

Sachin Agrawal, UK Managing Director for Zoho, comments, “Artificial Intelligence is already having a transformative impact on people and businesses, driving efficiencies across areas such as data analysis, fraud detection and forecasting which make a significant difference to people’s lives. The commitment to investment and support in the AI Opportunities Action Plan is hugely encouraging, demonstrating the UK’s ambition as a global AI leader and instilling confidence in businesses to turbocharge innovation.

“As part of this innovation push, it is important for the UK to understand how AI regulation and data privacy continue to challenge businesses developing and implementing AI systems. In 2024, multi-agent AI emerged as a significant trend by enabling the collaboration between specialised agents to handle complex workflows in enterprise businesses where structured information and datasets are critical for context. No comprehensive frameworks have been enacted yet in the UK, although renewed commitments such as this and continued efforts indicate the growing recognition of responsible AI governance. According to our Digital Health Study, 78% of businesses have already used AI or are planning to invest heavily in the technology.

“As businesses take the next steps of AI adoption, fuelled by this landmark policy, they should be guided by the government, regulators and educators under AI frameworks that promote the safe and ethical development and usage of AI systems.”

The Prime Minster highlighted the transformative role that AI can play in driving public sector efficiency, saving time on admin that can be reassigned to improving public services.

Speeding up planning consultations to get Britain building, faster and more accurate medical diagnoses, reducing admin for teachers, and AI analysis of camera footage to improve roads were among the examples given by the Prime Minister on the benefits the plans will provide working people.

As part of the plan, the government is setting up a new team to build the UK’s sovereign capabilities and seize AI opportunities, as well as creating a new National Data Library to securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development.

Andy Ward, SVP International for Absolute Security, comments, “For the AI Opportunities Action Plan to truly deliver the transformative impact we all hope, it is vital that security is at the heart of these developments to ensure that AI systems that are being developed and deployed aren’t posing dangerous security risks. There’s no doubt that AI can bring a wealth of positives to our lives, but there’s a dark side to AI with cybercriminals manipulating it as part of attacks, infiltrating IT systems and increasing the sophistication and volume of attacks.”

“While the intention of becoming a global AI leader is encouraging, it requires the government, NCSC and industry to ensure that AI rollouts consider the security risks posed and put in place safeguards to provide additional business protections. Our research found that over half of CISOs feel that their security team is unprepared for evolving AI-powered threats, and 44% have gone as far as banning their employees from using AI due to the security risks.

“Cyber attacks have long been a case of when, not just if, and with AI positioned to increase the threat volume, taking a proactive approach to building cyber resilience has never been more important. Security teams not only need to identify and prevent attacks, they need the capability to recover when a breach does occur, shutting off compromised systems and restoring operations quickly and securely.”