Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (): I wish to inform the House of
the publication of the UK Compute Roadmap, which has been laid
before Parliament. The Roadmap follows on from the AI
Opportunities Action Plan that was published earlier this year
which set out this government's vision to harness AI to deliver
our plan for change - reshaping every sector of our economy and
society, from accelerating NHS diagnoses to strengthening our
defence and security.
AI – and the computing power that underpins it – will play a
crucial role in driving innovation, productivity and growth. The
Roadmap puts forward our long-term approach to delivering the
compute infrastructure that will underpin future scientific
breakthroughs, industrial competitiveness, and public service
delivery. It builds on the UK's longstanding strengths in
research and innovation, our world class talent and as the third
largest AI market in the world. We will take bold action in four
areas to deliver on this plan:
- We will build a modern public compute ecosystem – by
investing up to £2 billion to expand the AI Research Resource
(AIRR), delivering a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh and
establishing National Supercomputing Centres, of which Edinburgh
will be the first.
- We will put compute to use – by introducing a new allocation
model that is guided by our national priorities and supporting
the most impactful and transformative AI projects, including
dedicated access for the new Sovereign AI Unit and the AI
Security Institute.
- We will facilitate the build out of cutting-edge AI
infrastructure – by delivering AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) across the
UK, that deliver both national and local benefits.
- We will create sovereign, secure and sustainable capabilities
- by leveraging AIRR and AIGZs to support domestic suppliers
across the AI hardware stack and committing to make compute an
opportunity area within Sovereign AI.
The Roadmap will ensure that the next great breakthroughs in AI,
science and technology come from the UK. Our plan is both
ambitious and agile and as the pace of innovation accelerates, we
will remain responsive and adapt to seize emerging opportunities.
The Compute Roadmap positions the UK to shape global markets,
attract significant investment, and to deliver transformational
outcomes for citizens across the entire country.
Work to deliver this plan is already underway, with the UK's most
powerful AI supercomputer launching last week in Bristol. We will
now take this roadmap forward at pace -building on the momentum
already in place and working with people, researchers and
businesses across all parts of the UK to unlock the full
potential of AI.
