The UK government recently concluded that it was suspending a massive £1.3 billion package to finance generic technology and artificial intelligence (AI) projects. This is a trend that has generated significant buzz in the technology sector with several people asking the next question: what’s next?
Halting the Funding of Artificial Intelligence: The Big Pause Button
The conservatives led government in the UK was probably heard vowing to spend a whopping £1.3 billion last year, for enhancing the technology and AI. This is manifested by an £800 million allocated for the development of an exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh. The former is a computer designed to be a faster-than-a-speeding-bullet, an epitome of brainpower that could perform calculations a billion, billion times in a second. Additionally, the AI Research Resource for £500 million was proposed in order to establish AI computing capability across the nation.
But the present Labour government has temporarily halted this sort of expenditure and disbursement claiming that there are unfunded liabilities of the previous conservative governments. On the other side, the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology was promised funding for R&D spending, although it was never actually allocated by the government.
Why the Hold-Up?
The government says that it is exercising a hard power – balancing the power of money.The government is residing on the objective of stabilizing the economic status through reconsideration of all the expenditures.
A representative said, “We are 100 percent focused on development of technology infrastructure that will create a chance for growth among the individuals in the UK. About jobs they insisted on the fact that to revive the economy certain measures have to be taken, which may be painful for a certain amount of time.
Tech world responses
Of course, this decision caused certain concerns and frustration among the people. Andrew Griffith, the shadow science secretary, said this is a ‘terrible blow’ to the sector in the UK. He pointed out that this might just be the tip of the iceberg as far as more cuts are concerned since Labour has not pledged to ring-fence research funding, an important component in a contemporary economy.
Griffith even suggested that this could impact university research ‘heavily’. Other institutions, such as the University of Edinburgh, are right at the center of the competition. This was the funding they relied on to construct the first next-generation supercomputer in the UK, and a huge leap forward for research and technology.
This technological marvel, Archer2, is to be housed in the planned building for which the University of Edinburgh has already laid down £31 million. The supercomputer would not only compute complex scientific theories but equally applied in drug development research, global warming, space science and sophisticated engineering.
Looking Forward: What’s Next?
While the funding given to the AI Research Resource has already been disbursed, it remains unclear what will become of the other projects. The government has been advised by the tech community to move to the next level of planning as soon as possible. In the same view, Sue Daley, the director of technology and innovation at techUK argued that the UK has to move faster in the global race to technologize. Otherwise, the country may be left behind as the AI arms race intensifies across the globe.
A New Plan on the Horizon?
This is despite these concerns the government is currently developing a new action plan. They want to put AI at the center of their food for thought on how to increase growth and enhance public services. Science secretary Peter Kyle has therefore tasked tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford with working on a plan aimed at identifying further AI prospects. The aim of this plan is to identify the infrastructure, people, and data to support the evolution of AI in both the private and public sectors.
In that regard, Dame Wendy Hall, a renowned computer science professor, highlighted that the government is right sizing AI. She wants a more comprehensive AI vision that isn’t just centered on how to keep it safe and build better models, but on what the technology implies and how best it can be harnessed.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, we assess that the temporary halt in AI funding is far from being a disaster signal. The tech world is on the edge of its seat as the UK government reconsiders the goals and strategies set for the country to turn it into a better place.
