The UK’s prestigious data science and AI research organisation, the Alan Turing Institute, is to receive £100m funding from the UK government as part of a five year investment.
The news is expected to be announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the country’s 2024 Budget tomorrow (6 March).
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The Alan Turing Institute is a research group founded in 2015 and examines the ethical and societal issues facing AI and data sciences.
The money is intended to extend research into how AI can be used to help healthcare professionals, safeguard the environment and extend defence and national security.
The UK’s treasury stated that the money would have a transformative impact on the UK’s public services and biodiversity.
CEO and founder of marketing company Inspired Thinking Group, Simon Ward, stated that the investment was a major boost to the UK’s AI industry and The Alan Turing Institute.
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By GlobalData“With generative AI, automation and chatbots reshaping traditional working models, getting access to staff with the latest skills and spreading this knowledge across the workforce is vital for organisations seeking to maintain a competitive edge,” he stated.
“Economies that embrace and optimise the latest digital capabilities will thrive in the long term, those that fail to do so will inevitably fall behind,” Ward said.
The UK government previously consolidated its commitment to promoting AI and cloud computing in the public sector last October when the Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury, John Glen, visited Google Next.
At the event, Glen stated that the government believed AI could completely transform healthcare and help alleviate pressure off the NHS.
As AI is on the verge of disrupting the UK’s public sector, senior director at recruitment group Investigo Michael Thornton warned that its takeover could not be complete without a workforce skilled in AI.
“The problem is that even before the advent of widespread AI adoption, there was a gaping skills crisis engulfing UK [public limited companies] and public sector organisations,” Thornton stated.
Thornton said it was encouraging to see such substantial investment into the UK’s AI sector, but reaffirmed that more would need to be done in the future to ensure the UK can fully benefit from AI.
