The UK revises its AI strategy to cut costs

The UK government is revising its strategy guiding the country’s use of AI in the public sector, hiring an expert, Matt Clifford to come up with a more cost-effective strategy for AI technology.

Under the initiative, the government is cutting out previous commitments made by the previous administration. Sources cited by Reuters have indicated that the government however still aims to drive AI adoption in the public sector, yet it also wants to cut back on its direct spending into the sector.

UK government scraps billions of dollars in previous commitments

The Labour Government, under Kerr Stammer, which was voted into power in July 2024, has already indicated its plans to forgo spending the 1.3 billion pounds or $1.72 billion that had previously been earmarked for investment in technology. This includes the 800 million pounds that had been promised to develop a supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh.

Part of the investments the Conservatives were pursuing included the establishment of an AI Safety Institute, which was to be based in San Francisco , equipped with the latest technology, and housing the best experts.

Sources quoted by Reuters say that the shift in approach has also affected senior employees who had been hired to lead the implementation of the AI plan.

“Labour always needs to somehow look different to the Tories, and reining in the AI safety stuff, the focus on existential risks, is an easy way to do that,” said the source cited by Reuters.

Reports further indicate that among those affected was Nitarshan Rajkumar, who was fired from his job as senior AI policy advisor to the UK Government.

This decision has not been well-received by critics, who believe the country is short-changing itself in the name of cost-cutting.

After Rajkumar was fired, Jordan Sullivan, who leads the Startup Coalition, said the UK public sector would be poorer without him.

“Just the sort of person we should be doing a huge amount to keep inside the tent,” Sullivan complained on his X account. Sullivan further described this as a huge loss to the civil service.

Government gives assurance of commitment to AI development

The latest development in the UK is in sharp contrast to France , which is positioning itself as the capital of generative AI in Europe. France recently committed $2.77 billion towards developing the technology locally.

However, despite the changes to the AI strategy, the Labour administration is reassuring its constituency that it remains committed to deploying emerging technologies to better service delivery and public service efficiency.

Tech minister Peter Kyle has indicated that the government recognizes AI’s transformative abilities and wants to leverage it to enhance growth and opportunities for everyone in the UK.

So far they have recruited techpreneur and maverick Matt Clifford to come up with a more cost-effective AI plan, which will achieve almost the same thing Conservatives were aiming for, at a fraction of the cost.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in July foretold Stammer’s stance on AI, encouraging him to work around adopting the ‘game-changing’ technology in his governance.

“The spread of the application of AI by the private sector and its encouragement by appropriate government policy is the only answer to Britain’s productivity challenge and, over time, it can turbocharge growth,” Blair advised Stammer at the time.

There are fears that the new stance may result in the UK being left out of the technology race, as it comes at a time when other European countries are announcing heavy investments into AI.

The EU is increasing efforts to integrate and advance AI emphasizing on bolstering digital infrastructure and capabilities within member states in an effort to match global tech leaders.

Countries like Italy and Spain are leading accounting for 71% of total investments into AI within the Next Generation EU (NGEU) Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).