The UK government was notably short on details about AI in the Spring 2024 budget, leaving industry stakeholders wondering exactly what its vision for the technology is.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his budget in the House of Commons with the usual statement of economic optimism in the face of “a financial crisis, a pandemic and an energy shock caused by war in Europe”.
However, there was some explanation for the optimism: the UK's booming tech sector, which Hunt is harnessing, at least in part, as a clear path to growth and jobs.
He described the UK tech sector as one of “our most innovative industries” and, consequently, one of the “most powerful ways to attract investment”.
“Outside the United States we have the most respected universities, the largest financial services sector and the largest technology ecosystem in Europe,” Hunt said. “We have twice as many AI startups as anywhere else in Europe. “Double venture capital investment.”
Hunt also touted a UK tech economy twice the size of Germany and three times the size of France, heralding the UK's future as the “next Silicon Valley”.
However, the chancellor did not give much more detail about the government's big ambitions for the country's technology sector.
Aside from a handful of sporadic references in the written budget and some announcements about research funding in a subsequent statement, the Treasury offers no clear roadmap to making the “Silicon Valley” dream a reality.
The budget wording is particularly vague at times, with its assertion of a financial commitment to “public sector research and innovation infrastructure.” It details that £14 million will be channeled to develop the “next generation of health and safety technologies”.
There is more to do when it comes to AI, as the budget breaks down the costs of introducing AI into the public sector, outlining around $3.4 billion for the “digital transformation” of the NHS.
This transformation will include, among other things, new artificial intelligence tools to reduce form filling times and help doctors read MRIs. Other public funding announced in the budget also scheduled the use of AI in Parliament as part of an overall “Public Sector Productivity Plan.”
Experts suggested the plans lack a clear plan for investment in infrastructure vital to Ai's development across the country. The UK needs to focus on supporting its business and infrastructure framework if it is to make serious progress as a technological superpower.
Michal Szymczak, head of AI strategy at tech consultancy Zartis, echoed these sentiments in a statement to ITPro, suggesting the apparent budget constraints.
“While today's UK spring budget statement has paid lip service to the role of AI in investments across the public and healthcare sector, it is disappointing that we have not heard more details,” Szymczak said .
“Given that we are dealing with a technology that is set to change the world, it seems an oversight on the part of the UK government not to address it further,” he added.
The Budget committed to increasing the size of the UK's AI incubator team, designed to ensure “the UK government has the in-house expertise” in AI, as well as a major investment in the Alan Turing Institute (ATI).
But from the industry's point of view, the budget is not clear enough to strengthen its practical commitment to the UK AI industry.
The UK can't just have an AI vision, it needs a roadmap
If the UK wants to prosper as a global technology power, it needs to invest in the infrastructure needed to support it, according to Allan Kaye, co-founder and CEO of Vesper Technologies. Kaye suggested Hunt's budget lacks practicality.
“From today’s announcement, it is clear that a renewed focus on innovation is on the horizon for the UK Government. Over the past year, investment in AI capabilities has accelerated and it is good to see these advances reflected in the budget,” said Kaye.
“But this alone is not enough. “If we want the UK to become the next AI superpower, or as Hunt put it in “the world’s next Silicon Valley”, we need to see investment in the infrastructure needed to support the growth of AI,” he added.
Such infrastructure would include, Kaye said, the newest GPU architectures and a network of data centers “adequately equipped” to handle the enormous volumes of power and heat associated with AI.
What the UK government should not get bogged down in is program after program of research or training. While these are vital to preparing the UK for AI and training the next generation of AI workers, they represent distractions from larger investments in infrastructure.
Recently, for example, it announced its tech skills “boot camp” program designed to promote tech jobs with the promise of a “comfortable” pay package at the end.
However, there has been some activity by conservatives on more practical projects. In December, it announced plans to start classifying data centers as critical infrastructure, and data center projects in general have been gaining some momentum, with one recently announced in east London and another planned by Microsoft for Yorkshire.
But this move is not fast enough. The government had the perfect opportunity to announce more concrete funding plans in the form of a budget and failed to do so.
“It is no longer enough to use AI models and demonstrate that the public sector is thinking innovatively; we need action to make this a long-term strategy to put the UK at the forefront and incubate new businesses,” Kaye said.
