PM speech on AI Opportunities Action Plan: 13 January 2025
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-13)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a speech this morning on the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The defining opportunity of our generation

Deb Kelly is a prison officer and a PE instructor.

Two years ago, this month…

She got up on a Saturday morning…

And collapsed on the floor.

Her whole face had completely drooped.

Her left side had gone completely weak.

She was having a stroke.

She was found by her son, rushed to hospital…

Where the doctors used Artificial Intelligence…

To help pinpoint the exact location of the blood clot.

They successfully removed it.

Now, as you know, with strokes it is always a race against the clock.

Too slow – and the patient may die.

And every second of delay increases the risk of paralysis.

But in Deb’s case…

With AI…

The whole procedure took less than three minutes.

It saved her life.

I spoke to her this morning.

And she’s always been really clear about this.

She said if that blood clot hadn’t been removed, she wouldn’t be here right now – I wouldn’t have spoken to her this morning.

That’s the power of AI in action.

And I’ve seen a version of this in Coventry in the hospital there.

They showed me how this works with strokes – finding the clot.

They have got a big screen with the brain pulsating.

And it’s really complicated.

You’ve got to get the right point straightaway as quickly as you can.

It’s revolutionary in terms of stroke care.

And what that shows to me – Deb’s story, what I saw for myself – is that AI isn’t something sort of, of the future, over the next hill.

It’s the present.

It’s already here.

In Britain.

Changing lives.

A chance - to turbocharge growth…

Create the companies of the future…

And radically improve our public services.

I mean – we’ve known for a long time that it’s pretty impressive.

Never mind Luke Littler becoming world champion at 17…

We’ve seen computers learn Go from scratch…

…and be the best in the world in just three days!

Although to be fair to Luke – I’ve not seen a computer throw a 180 yet!

But look, for all those people – and there are lots of people – who say…

Well that’s all very well.

What is Go?

How does that help me?

What does it mean for my life?

That story of Deb shows the point.

Because…

AI isn’t something locked away behind the walls of blue-chip companies…

It’s a force for change that will transform the lives of working people for the better.

If you’re sitting around the kitchen table tonight…

…worried about opportunity at your children’s school…

AI can help teachers plan lessons…

…tailored to your children’s specific needs.

If you’re worried about waiting times…

And aren’t we all…

AI can save hundreds of thousands of hours lost to missed appointments…

Because it can identify those on the list most likely not to turn up…

And help get them the support that they need…

Maybe change for a more convenient appointment.

It can spot potholes quicker…

Speed up planning applications…

Reduce job centre form-filling…

Help in the fight against tax avoidance…

And almost halve the time social workers spend on paperwork.

Incredible.

And yes, there will be teething problems – of course there will.

But we can’t lose sight of the vast potential here.

I mean – look at DeepMind…

Which we are all familiar with.

That has already transformed our entire understanding of biology.

The idea of personalised medicine, tailored to your DNA…

The hope of treating diseases that we once feared incurable…

The ability to predict and prevent illness long before it strikes.

Think of the lives that will save…

Think about the impact on your life…

Think about all the doctors and nurses…

Who will have more time for the personal touch, the connection, the service…

That people really value.

And in a way that’s the irony of AI…

It will make public services more human…

Reconnect staff with the reasons they came to public service in the first place…

A force that will turbocharge every single element…

Of our Plan for Change…

The defining opportunity of our generation.

Now, I do understand that change on this scale and at this speed can be worrying…

Particularly when experts warn about safety risks.

And that’s why the last government was right to establish the world’s leading AI Safety Institute…

And we will build on that.

Indeed, later this month, the UK will lead the first ever global AI safety test…

Working alongside our international partners.

So be in absolutely no doubt…

We will make sure this technology is safe.

But I don’t think that’s the limit of what the state should do…

That’s where I disagree with the last government.

We shouldn’t just focus on safety and leave the rest to the market…

Government has a responsibility to make it work for working people…

And the opportunities of this technology – they are not just going to somehow fall into our lap…

This is the global race of our lives.

Now, some countries are going to make AI breakthroughs and export them…

Others will end up buying those breakthroughs and importing them.

The question is – which of those will Britain be?

AI maker or AI taker?

And right now – you will know this – the investors, the entrepreneurs, the researchers who will make those breakthroughs…

They’re looking around the world…

They are choosing where to make their home…

Trillions of pounds worth of investment at stake…

A battle for the jobs of tomorrow – is happening today.

And we want data centres employing hundreds of people in the North-East…

Technology hubs using the talents of researchers in the North-West…

World-leading robotics in the South-West.

But we have to be on the pitch.

And that’s not just a question of economic policy.

It’s a question of values too.

Whose values are going to shape this technology as it develops?

The open values that this country holds dear…

…or other countries?

Who gets the benefits?

Just those at the top – or working people everywhere?

And I don’t think that a government should be neutral on these questions…

And this government won’t be.

Britain is going to shape the future.

We are going to make the breakthroughs…

We are going to create the wealth…

And we are going to make AI work for everyone in our country…

This is the nation of Babbage, Lovelace and Turing…

That gave birth to the modern computer and the World Wide Web …

So mark my words – Britain will be one of the great AI superpowers.

Now, that’s not boosterism or wishful thinking…

This can be done, and it will be done.

There’s a reason why OpenAI, Anthropic and Scale…

…chose London as their international office.

And there’s a reason Mistral AI…

…one of the champions of open source…

…have just announced a UK office too.

We’ve got Wayve – building the tech to power a new generation of self-driving vehicles…

Synthesia – leading the world in AI-powered video…

Blackstone – building Europe’s largest data centre in Northumberland.

We’re Number one in Europe for AI investment.

We’ve already attracted more than £25 billion…

And that’s just in the time that this government has been in office.

That’s what you get with a Government that can be a trusted partner…

With a clear strategy.

It’s what you get with a reforming Government…

…actually capable of driving through the supply-side agenda this needs.

Because as you know…

As this race speeds up…

We’ve got to run further and faster.

So within days of taking office…

I asked Matt Clifford to review how we seize the opportunities of AI.

And I want to thank Matt, and Peter Kyle and his team for all their work.

Because today, we are not just publishing that review…

We are making a clear commitment to take forward all the recommendations.

And we will put the full weight of the British state behind this…

I am determined the UK becomes the best place to start and scale an AI business…

That will be the centrepiece of our Industrial Strategy.

There has never been a better moment…

…for entrepreneurs with big ideas…

…to grow a small company fast.

So we are going to create AI growth zones…

Breathing new life into sites like Culham, in Oxfordshire.

And we are going to remove the blockages that hold you back…

This is a Government that backs the builders.

So if you are looking at where to build your data centres…

We will speed up planning permission.

If you need better access to power – and we all know how big a challenge that is…

We’ll get you those grid connections at speed.

You have asked for a gold standard data access regime…

So we will develop a National Data Library…

A clear and trusted copyright regime…

And, safe access to the unique resource of our NHS for research.

And, then of course, the engine of AI progress…

…is what’s called compute.

We’ll increase our public sector compute…

Not by a factor of two or three or even ten….

But by twenty.

Now, that’s like upgrading from my Dad’s old Ford Cortina…

…to a Formula One McLaren in one go!

What about the talent?

Well - we’ve got the high potential visa routes…

For the world’s top talent to move here…

And we’re going to make it easier for tomorrow’s talent to learn here…

Training tens of thousands of STEM graduates and apprentices.

But perhaps most importantly of all – and let’s be crystal clear about this…

When it comes to regulation – we will be pro-growth and pro-innovation.

And on regulation – look, I know there are different approaches around the world.

But we are now in control of our regulatory regime…

So we will go our own way on this.

We will test and understand AI before we regulate it…

…to make sure that when we do it, it is proportionate and grounded in the science.

But at the same time, we’ll offer the political stability that business needs.

And, of course, our British values…

Centuries’ long heritage – rooted in democracy and the rule of law.

Put simply, our message to those at the frontier of AI capabilities is this:

We want to be the best state partner for you anywhere in the world…

That’s the measure of our ambition.

And to help us achieve that…

We’re not just accepting Matt’s recommendations…

We’re bringing him into my team in Number Ten – so he can help develop them.

And as well as Matt, I’m delighted…

That the inspiring, Nobel Prize-winner, Sir Demis Hassabis…

… is providing his expertise to the government as well.

But remember – go back to that – those two challenges here

Our ambition is not just to be an AI superpower…

But also make sure that this benefits working people.

Now that of course starts with jobs and investment in every part of the country.

And so I’m really pleased, right here today…

…to announce that Kyndryl are investing in a new technology hub in Liverpool…

Now that alone will create a thousand new jobs.

And also that Nscale are investing £2bn…

…and Vantage Data Centers another £12bn…

making £14 billion of new investment in data centres across the UK

…creating another 12,000 jobs.

But look, our Plan for Change also sets down a gauntlet for public services.

And the blunt truth is – we’ve got to be much bolder.

I’ve seen this for myself – as a leader of a public service…

And this is entirely human…

But new technology can provoke a reaction…

A sort of fear, an inhibition, a caution if you like.

And because of fears of a small risk…

Too often you miss the massive opportunity.

So we have got to change that mindset.

Because actually the far bigger risk…

Is that if we don’t go for it…

…we’re left behind by those who do.

And that’s what I mean about totally rewiring government.

Being emboldened to take risks – as our brilliant entrepreneurs do…

Restless and relentless.

Because the prize within our grasp…

…is the path to national renewal.

AI is the way…

To secure growth…

To raise living standards…

Put money in people’s pockets…

Create exciting new companies…

And transform our public services.

We are all proud of our history – the first industrial nation…

The cradle of engineering innovation.

And I want people to look back on this generation…

And be proud of what we started today.

That we grasped the nettle of AI…

That we ran with it…

And made it work for working people.

That’s who we are as a nation.

It’s who you are – as the pioneers of today…

And it’s the ambition that drives this Government forward.

AI has arrived…

Our defining opportunity is here…

And together – we will harness it…

For the good of our country.

Thank you very much.