The Taskforce, which is being modelled on Britain’s COVID-19 Vaccines Taskforce, is being set up to help further the UK’s capabilities in “safe and reliable” foundation models.

Foundation models are artificial intelligence systems that have been trained on a vast quantity of data, with the training leading to the AI being able to accomplish a range of objectives and tasks. Foundation models include large language models (LLMs), like OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.

On top of developing reliable foundation models, the AI Taskforce is being tasked to aid the UK with becoming a leader in foundation models and their applications across the economy, and to help ensure that AI adoption and usage is carried out safely.

The £100M pledge highlights how the UK Government increasingly has AI innovation in its sights. As part of the funding announcement, the Government mentioned that AI is “predicted to raise global GDP by 7% over a decade, making its adoption a vital opportunity to grow the UK economy,” while also citing research that suggests “the broad adoption of such [AI] systems could triple national productivity growth rates.”

In particular, healthcare and education were suggested by the Government as sectors where AI innovation could be particularly promising, with AI helping to speed up illness diagnoses and drug discovery and development in medical settings, for example.

Reporting to the Prime Minister and the Tech Secretary, the Taskforce — which is set to be composed of government and industry experts — will be led by a Chair who will be announced this summer.

While the Chair’s appointment is ongoing, Matt Clifford, Chair of the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency, will advise the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary on the development of the taskforce.

“Harnessing the potential of AI provides enormous opportunities to grow our economy, create better-paid jobs, and build a better future through advances in healthcare and security,” said Prime Minister Sunak.

“By investing in emerging technologies through our new expert Taskforce, we can continue to lead the way in developing safe and trustworthy AI as part of shaping a more innovative UK economy.”

Recommended

• Survey: The Most Desired Benefits for Women in Tech
• DIGIT Leader Summit 2023 | Just Three Days to Go!
• Glasgow Healthtech Firm Gains Notable ISO Accreditation

Tech Secretary Michelle Donelan added: “Developed responsibly, cutting-edge AI can have a transformative impact in nearly every industry. It can revolutionise the way we develop new medical treatments, tackle climate change and improve our public services, all while growing and future-proofing our economy.

“We need to act now to seize the opportunities AI can offer us in the future. We’re backing our expert taskforce with the funding to make our ambitions for an AI-enabled country a reality and keep the UK at the front of the pack in this emerging technology.

“To ensure such leadership, the greatest capability we can develop is in the safety and reliability of such systems. This will ensure that the public and business have the trust they need to confidently adopt this technology and fully realise its benefits. That is exactly what this taskforce will prioritise.”

The AI Taskforce funding announcement comes just weeks after the UK Government released its first whitepaper on AI regulation — when, simultaneously, an open letter backed by numerous tech leaders regarding the safety and reliability of AI began gaining traction.

Additionally, last week, DIGIT published news that the European Data Protection Board announced its intentions to create an AI taskforce to address the potential regulation of ChatGPT and its competitors.