Tech leaders call on government to cultivate ‘AI ecosystem’ to rival Silicon Valley
Tech Nation, owned by Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum Group, has brought together a group of tech leaders to publish an open letter calling for the UK to become a global player in artificial intelligence (AI).
The letter, signed by over 20 prominent AI founders and addressed to Rishi Sunak, emphasised that now is a “moment of critical importance” to rival Silicon Valley’s dominance if the UK is to become a global leader in AI.
In addition to promoting AI as a force for good more broadly, the letter set out four practical actions that it believes the government “can and should take immediately”:
”We urge you to adopt AI products and services across government departments; open our UK datasets in a safe way to maximise their value before it is eroded through inaction; upskill our existing outcomes-focused regulators with AI proficiency; and cultivate the AI startup ecosystem with incentives and support to benefit the UK taxpayer,” the letter said.
The letter has been sent ahead of the UK’s AI Safety Summit being held at Bletchley Park on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Last week, former Prime Minister Lizz Truss wrote to her successor asking him to reconsider inviting Xi Jinping’s government in Beijing over concerns of AI’s possible uses in China.
However, the Tech Nation letter struck a far more optimistic tone with the ”myriad of ways” it foresees AI being capable of making the ”world a better place”.
The letter emphasised the idea of an ”AI ecosystem” built from UK startups that would enhance public services and transform government productivity.
The letter argued that if governmental departments lead the way in adopting AI products and services, it should also ”incentivise the FTSE 250 to follow suit”.
The government was approached for comment.