The government is inviting local and regional authorities across the country to bid to become one of the UK’s artificial intelligence (AI) growth zones.
The plan to develop AI growth zones is part of Labour’s 50-point AI opportunities action plan policy, and is focused on speeding up planning permission for AI-led initiatives.
At the end of January, science minister Patrick Vallance announced the Culham AI growth zone and his ambition for the so-called Oxford-Cambridge arc – which covers Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge – to become a region for tech innovation. “We are already putting billions behind the Oxford-Cambridge region through East-West Rail, the Culham AI growth zone, and our record-breaking backing for UK R&D,” he said.
Following Culham, the government now plans to focus on developing AI growth zones in deindustrialised areas of the country. It has encouraged local and regional authorities to submit their proposals, including sites with existing access to power or that would be suitable to establish major energy infrastructure.
Secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Peter Kyle said: “These new AI growth zones will deliver untold opportunities – sparking new jobs, fresh investment and ensuring every corner of the country has a real stake in our AI-powered future.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned in how we can harness expertise from all over the UK to deliver new opportunities, fresh growth, better public services and cement our position as an AI pioneer, and that’s the message I will be sending to international partners and AI companies at the AI Action Summit.”
The government’s goal is to encourage energy companies and datacentre developers to provide the infrastructure needed to drive forward the roll-out of AI growth zones. It has committed to speeding up planning permission to build out AI infrastructure quickly, which means building out datacentre capacity and providing the energy capacity the power-hungry servers in these datacentres need to run AI workloads. It said it will be working with network operators to scale each zone to 500MW+, which is enough to power roughly two million homes.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) plans to assess proposals from energy providers and datacentre firms to help inform the final selection of sites and broader policy decisions, which are expected later this year.
The government has already received interest in developing AI growth zones in Scotland, Wales, and north-east and north-west England.
Those involved in bidding and encouraging bidding for AI growth zone status see opportunities to inject new investment and attract skills.
Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill said: “Scotland is already at the centre of these plans, with our world-leading universities at the forefront of AI development and our industrial heritage providing a range of possible sites. I would encourage our local authorities to explore becoming an AI growth zone, which will help attract further investment.”
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen hopes to attract people with high tech skills to work in the region. “My job, above everything, is to bring good, well-paid, long-term jobs to local people. We have everything we need to host an AI growth zone in our region. We have the land, we have the power and we have shown in our efforts at Teesworks how we can get huge projects moving forward at pace,” he said.
One of the ongoing challenges facing the UK as it pivots to a high-tech-led industrial strategy is that while there are plenty of great ideas and startups with innovative products, scaling these commercially is a major barrier. Earlier this month, witness statements published in the latest edition of the AI and creative technology scaleup report for the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee described the UK as “terrible place” to scale up startup businesses.
