Tag: Michelle Donelan

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 16 April 2024.

Good afternoon.

It’s a pleasure to be here in Birmingham today.

Thank you so much for inviting me to speak.

Today, the UK is one of the world’s leading manufacturing nations.

A century ago, the name of the game was quantity – the world’s leading manufacturing nations were trying to solve questions of size and scale – churning out more and more, faster and faster.

Today, the game has reversed, and those questions have largely been solved.

99% of consumer goods can be manufactured cheaply and at scale.

The real challenge today – and the one that will define the future of manufacturing – is quality. How do we design and produce the most innovative, intricate technologies like semiconductors for example, in a way that is cost effective?

This is where the UK’s unique manufacturing history and expertise comes into play.

Because manufacturing is so much more than what happens on the factory floor…

Invention… innovation… design… execution… scaling…

These are the ingredients of high-end manufacturing that the UK has in abundance.

As the former Universities Minister, I know first hand how our world-class higher education system forms the backbone of advanced manufacturing in the UK. Nearly a decade ago, before I was elected to Parliament, I created the Wiltshire Festival of Engineering. Sponsored by some of the world’s leading manufacturers, including Dyson and Airbus, we were able to inspire thousands of Wiltshire school children into careers in STEM.

The first debate I ever organised as a newly elected MP was about engineering.

And my priorities haven’t changed.

If anything, manufacturing matters even more.

The past four years have brought with them a relentless barrage of stories about supply chain disruption.

From the coronavirus pandemic to the war in Ukraine and even a ship stuck in the Suez, the links that hold our economy together seem more fragile than ever.

And if these stories have taught us anything, it is that the ability to make our own things, on our own terms, is fundamental if we want to face our future head on.

And we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our strategic goods and technologies, like the machine tools on display this week, do not get into the hands of those who wish to do our nation harm.

So, as Secretary of State, I have put manufacturing front and centre in my mission to make Britain a science and tech superpower.

For me, science and technology are not just about labs and lecture theatres.

Innovation matters most when it is out there in the real world.

It’s only with the the commercialisation of new ideas, products, processes, and services, that we can create economic growth.

And it’s only through growing our economy, creating jobs, and driving discoveries that we can make tangible differences to people’s lives.

British manufacturing businesses are doing just that.

In fact, materials and manufacturing account for 47% of all business investment in R&D.

In towns and cities right across the country, you can find some of the most technologically advanced manufacturing in the world.

In South Wales, we have the world’s first dedicated compound semiconductor cluster.

In Cambridge, we have the world’s most intensive science and tech cluster, home to Europe’s largest collection of biotechnology businesses – and almost 700 high-tech manufacturing firms. It’s the envy of the world, attracting talent and investment from across the globe.

Here in the West Midlands, we have a global centre for automotive R&D whose 5G coverage – the highest in the UK – is helping it to lead the way in developing the autonomous vehicles that will transform the way we travel.

Every pound that goes into British manufacturing is an investment in jobs for British people.

A vote of confidence in their ability to find the solutions to the immense challenges we face.

Our £1 billion semiconductor strategy is unlocking new investment in semiconductor manufacturing which will be fundamental for the net zero transition.

We are boosting life sciences manufacturing with over half a billion pounds, growing an industry that adds almost £20 billion to our economy each year and bolstering our ability to make vaccines that have already saved millions of lives in Britain and beyond.

Our Wireless Infrastructure Strategy sets out a plan to drive up the adoption of standalone 5G to transform manufacturing, unlocking the potential of technologies like robotics that could make our assembly lines infinitely more efficient, boosting productivity by billions.

These investments are the decisions of a bold and ambitious government that is prepared to bet big on the ability of British business to build tomorrow’s economy.

A government that, last year, announced a £4.5 billion plan to back advanced manufacturing industries like aerospace and automotive that employ hundreds of thousands of British people.

A government that is investing in technologies that don’t just change the things we make, but the way we make them.

And Britain has reaped the rewards as a result. Between 2010 and 2021, the UK saw the fastest manufacturing productivity growth in the G7.

But if we want that trend to continue, then we cannot afford to slow down. We must stick to the plan, not go back to square one.

There is one technology, more than any other, that promises to transform manufacturing in the decades to come: AI.

AI can help us to make enormous efficiencies in machinery and in supply chains, acting early to prevent days of lost time.

It can reduce accidents that put workers at risk and test the quality of goods far quicker than any human could.

It can forecast demand for existing products – and even design new ones that appeal to untapped parts of the market.

All in all, AI promises nothing less than a revolution for manufacturing.

And there is no reason why that revolution should not start in the UK.

Today, we have the third largest AI market in the world – a market that is predicted to grow to over one trillion dollars by the end of the decade.

Much of that success is thanks to that unique culture of innovation I talked about earlier – a culture where entrepreneurs are unafraid to risk failure in pursuit of success.

But, I believe, it is also testament to a Prime Minister and government that is prepared to take its own risks.

Rather than sitting on the fence, playing ‘wait and see,’ we decided to step up and support the technology right from the get-go.

Over the last decade, we have invested more than £3.5 billion in AI.

And in the last year, when the extraordinary capabilities of large language models have captured the world’s attention, we kick-started the global conversation on AI safety, hosting the first ever global summit on AI safety. Next month I will travel to Korea to co-host the second summit, and we have the France safety summit planned for early next year.

But I have always been clear that, while we have one eye on safety, the other must always be on opportunity.

And that opportunity must be open to everyone.

Whether you are a small tech start-up looking to scale and succeed in the UK, or a family-owned manufacturing firm looking for ways to stay competitive in a new era, I believe that artificial intelligence has something to offer.

That is why I set out a pro-safety, pro-innovation approach to regulating AI that will drive growth and create jobs across the country.

That same mission drove me to set up the AI Opportunity Forum, where we’re working with some of the biggest industry players to encourage the adoption of AI across all businesses, including smaller firms looking to harness the power of artificial intelligence to innovate and grow.

Some of those firms will benefit from BridgeAI, too, which is supporting British businesses in high-growth sectors like construction and logistics to boost their productivity – and compete on the global stage.

But no matter how big your business – no matter whether you are designing chips, developing life-saving drugs, or building the next generation of green, electric cars – there is one need that never changes: skills.

Skills have always been close to my heart. Another one of the drums I’ve been banging for 15 years, a skilled workforce is the foundation stone to everything in our economy.

If we want British businesses to grow – and if we want that growth to deliver benefits to every British person – then we need people with the skills to succeed in industries of tomorrow.

To ensure that where you are from does not determine where you can get to.

So last month, I announced over one billion pounds in support for young people studying PhDs across our five critical technologies – our largest ever investment.

But you shouldn’t need a PhD to benefit from British science and tech.

I want to bring its benefits to people from all walks of life.

That is why we are providing new support for small businesses looking to upskill their employees for the age of AI – and launching a pilot scheme to open apprenticeship pathways into our growing quantum industry.

I know that there are thousands of apprentices here today. Some of you have even trained at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult my department supports, whose excellent work I have seen for myself at the MTC just down the road in Coventry. I look forward to meeting some of you later this afternoon.

Because it is talented people like you who hold the key to the kind of sustainable economic growth that will see Britain succeed in the century to come.

Science and tech can sometimes seem far removed from the reality of our daily lives.

But behind every one of the breakthroughs we have seen is a person with an idea – and the skills to turn it into a reality.

The same will be true for the breakthroughs still to come.

And I have no doubt that some of the people who will be behind them are here in Birmingham this week.

Some of you will take up jobs with the fast-growing firms who are exhibiting here.

Others, I’m sure, will use that experience to start innovative businesses of your own.

But, no matter what path you take, this government will do all it can to support you.

Because, in your hands, Britain’s manufacturing future is bright.

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in London on 11 March 2024.

Good morning, everybody, and thank you to techUK for bringing us together today and choosing the theme of growth and public services for our discussion.

It is no secret that what really motivates and excites me about science and technology and innovation is the truly transformative effect on public services and our economy that new advancements bring.

My officials will testify that I constantly bang on about public services, and I have made it somewhat my mission to hammer home the real world impact of technology has and can have on people.

Everything we do in DSIT is shaped around a common goal of improving people’s lives from new lifesaving AI cancer treatments to reinvigorating left behind communities by fuelling their growth with new STEM skills.

Far from being a kind of side objective of science and technology, I actually believe that transforming public services and driving growth is quite literally the whole point of our science and technology superpower mission.

That is why I have listened to industry and formed three pillars of what will take us there – skills, scale-up and regulation.

The right skills to meet the future needs of emerging tech and science businesses…

The right ecosystem for start-ups to scale-up through homegrown capital investment…

And common-sense regulation that supports and facilitates innovation…

These three pillars are critical to turning the incredible Whitehall startup story that is my department, DSIT, into a success story for our public services and our economy.

So, I am pleased to see this on the agenda…

…and today, in fact, we have launched our science and technology superpower campaign, showcasing the very best of British business to investors here in the UK.

But for this session I want to touch on three areas as illustrative examples of how we are really driving growth and improving public services just as we speak.

And what better way to start than on broadband and connectivity – which form the basic foundation of all digital growth and – particularly when it comes to advanced wireless connectivity like 5G – it truly has the potential for a new, locally delivered, high tech health service as well.

Every single house and business we connect to gigabit broadband, and every new mobile connection represents a step closer to a true digital economy where opportunity is spread equally.

That is why we have embarked on one of the largest infrastructure projects since the Victorian era.

In fact, we have laid enough fibre optic cable to go around the Earth five times over.

And by the time we have connected the remaining homes, we’ll have laid enough cable to go nearly halfway to the Moon.

That’s been achieved in the space of just a single Parliament.

For communities across the country, that means we have gone from just 6% coverage in 2019 to over 81% coverage today.

Thanks to a unique public-private partnership that this government decided to pioneer, [political content removed] our plan we’re now rolling out Gigabit broadband faster than anywhere else in the EU.

With the government working hand-in-hand with business right now we connect a premises to gigabit broadband every 13 seconds.

And independent research estimates that a gigabit connection adds an extra £217 per person, per year to the UK economy.

Let’s think about that for a moment – every 13 seconds, this government, working with industry, is improving another person’s economic output by £217 – and probably more in the same household.

Since I started speaking, in fact, today, that’s about 50 new premises and several times that number in terms of people with access to connections which are adding hundreds of pounds more to our economy each year.

That means more money into our economy and more money into public services.

But it goes well beyond economics.

To me that is 50 young families with access to education and employment opportunities that they didn’t have before.

It’s 50 businesses with access to new markets for their products and services.

It’s 50 elderly people able to keep in touch with their loved ones and using better healthcare technology in their home.

That is what I mean when I say that everything we do must be geared toward real, tangible outcomes for real people.

I saw that when I visited Northumberland just the other week, celebrating the millionth home connected by the government funded-rollout of Gigabit broadband, I saw how it is changing lives for people young and old – especially outside our cities, in our rural communities.

And we have a bold ambition – as set out in our Wireless Infrastructure Strategy- for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G connectivity by the end of the decade.

But this advanced wireless technology is so much more than connecting smart phones – it offers a very high grade of connectivity that can unleash growth and productivity in sectors across the economy, from manufacturing, to agritech, to the creative industries.

Our £40 million 5G Innovations Regions programme is about realising the vast potential that exists in sectors across the economy and in every corner of the United Kingdom.

And we won’t stop at 5G. Our work is well underway to prepare for the next generation of wireless technologies that will emerge in the next decade: and that is, of course, 6G.

The next thing I want to discuss today really doesn’t get enough attention in my opinion – yet is one of the great untapped resources that we have right at our fingertips.

When it comes to delivering public services, every developed country faces the same fundamental challenge – we have to deliver more services… For more people… Using fewer resources.  And what is that thing that I’m alluding to? It is, of course, data.

So, best public services in the 21st Century will be defined by their ability to be delivered in an efficient and effective way.

In my view, data will be absolutely critical to this.

I said in my recent scaleup speech the other month that the public sector and other organisations are sitting on mountains of incredibly useful data that could be used more to improve public services while of course protecting privacy.

I am making it my mission to help unlock that hidden potential and ensure that the UK catches up with other countries who are already reaping the rewards of better data utilisation.

In last week’s Budget, the Chancellor confirmed two new pilots to improve data access whilst protecting data protection and security. The pilots will help generate new AI services to support teaching and promote better data access and services in the adult social care sector.

The Data Bill that I am currently steering through Parliament with my wonderful team of ministers is just one step in the making of this a reality – on its own it will add £10 billion to our economy and most crucially – we designed it so that the greatest benefit would be felt by small businesses across our country.

Cashing in on a Brexit opportunity that only we were prepared to take, and now those rewards are going to be felt by the next generation of founders and business owners in local communities.

But as I said earlier this year, data-driven public services are not just a nice to have, they are an absolute necessity if we are going to be able to deliver more for the public at better value for money.

The NHS has already used innovative data analysis to target the HPV vaccine at younger patients, where its benefits will be felt most strongly. When used in this way, the vaccine has reduced incidents of cervical cancer by up to 87%, which I personally think is absolutely remarkable.

All parts of the public sector can play a part here in finding ways to use anonymised local and national data to target public services more effectively.

I take an unapologetically pro-business, pro-common-sense approach when it comes to people’s lives and making sure technology delivers for them.

That approach is indispensable for the final example I want to talk about today, and that is artificial intelligence – the technology that, perhaps more than any other, will define the decade to come.

AI is where we see technology’s potential for the public sector go into overdrive. Whether in our health service or our transport systems, there is quite literally no limit to what AI could achieve.

It really is one of those areas that does keep me up at night, but in a good way.

Today, because of the bold and unique approach the UK has taken on AI since the creation of my department, our AI sector is widely regarded as the third largest in the world, behind only the US and China.

And, as the technology evolves even faster, and the world’s leading companies choose to locate themselves in London, we can expect it to go from strength of strength.

We are leading the way with AI safety so that we can grip the risks to seize the opportunities. Having convened the world last year at Bletchley Park and secured landmark agreements including access to pre and post deployment testing of models. And we are now home to the world’s very first AI Institute which is already functioning and has begun testing models.

Our AI market is predicted to grow to over one trillion dollars by 2035 – now to put that into context, that is the same size as our entire tech sector put together today. The economic possibilities for the UK are genuinely staggering.

But all this is quite meaningless unless behind those stats, they translate into tangible benefits small businesses and communities.

In the same way as the internet boom has enriched the lives of every single person across the country, so too can AI.

Imagine for a minute a transport network where the network is smart enough to work around passengers rather than the passengers working around the network.

Or imagine a fully scaled, smart electricity grid that smashes the UK’s net zero targets on time because we only generate what we actually use.

And the one that really means something to many of you here today I believe, is the power of what it could do for our NHS. Imagine an NHS where AI is detecting cancer earlier than we ever thought possible, or where new drugs are available to cure illnesses that we have tried and failed to do for centuries.

Through the AI in Health and Care Award, we have invested £123 million to test and evaluate artificial intelligence technologies in crucial areas that cause the most harm to health and the economy.

For instance, technology being used in stroke care and is significantly increasing the speed at which patients are diagnosed and treated, which in turn is improving the rates of independent living following a stroke. In fact, we have deployed AI technology into 95% of stroke units in England. That’s not what could happen, that is what is happening.

Like data, it can help medical professionals across the country in more everyday ways, too – saving them time, saving them money and helping them to focus their efforts where it really makes a difference.

An AI-enabled NHS could give doctors an AI co-pilot working for them 24/7 – allowing them to spend more time with their patients and improving overall patient care.

Curing cruel diseases like cancer and dementia are genuinely now on the cards with advancements in AI around the corner, which is great news but should not mean we just sit and wait and expect it to happen.

Because what actually really excites me today in the here and now is how AI is making us far better at predicting and preventing disease – and ultimately that is what the goal of the NHS should one day be – not to treat existing disease, but to prevent it altogether.

But however exciting this all is, I want to make a very important point today – and that is that none of these opportunities that I have spoken about today are inevitable. It, of course, requires a government that sees the potential of AI, is prepared to take the necessary steps to make sure the UK is leading the way in the safe development and deployment of AI, and is supporting our businesses and our public services to adopt AI.

If we go down the route of stifling innovation and closing the door to AI technologies, we have no hope of achieving the kind of public sector adoption that is needed to make these goals a reality.

The Budget last week was the latest affirmation of our commitment here, from a new £7.4 million upskilling fund pilot that will help SMEs develop AI skills of the future… to the announcement that we will invest in AI Document Processing and a new pilot for using AI in speeding up planning processes.

Our wider agile, fast-paced, but also safety-first approach has been welcomed across the board and I know techUK have been very supportive of our process and the White Paper that we recently responded to.

Now if you let me, I could of course go into the details of how our work on quantum is literally pushing the boundaries of a transformational field…

Or how the UK compound semiconductor design power is growing through extraordinary research here on our shores…

Or how the UK’s world-leading cyber security expertise is now sought after across the globe…

But I am conscious of the fact that I’m probably already running over time, so I want to leave you with one final thought.

Although we in Westminster can often get wrapped up in the theory and the policy – we have to remember how real the benefits of these technologies are to the British people.

If you came in for your radiotherapy treatment a year or two ago, it might have taken a doctor three whole hours just to prepare you safely for the procedure.

That is three hours per patient, and a long queue of patients each in desperate need.

Today, right now, that same procedure is being done in the amount of time I have stood up here speaking, thanks to an amazing AI tool.

These are incredible leaps that are not just changing lives but saving them too. I want us to continue building a public service system that can deliver for the British people today and well into the future.

Thank you.

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, on 14 November 2023.

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, in Milton Keynes on 1 November 2023.

Good morning, everybody.

It is my privilege to welcome you all to the first ever global summit on Frontier AI safety.

During a time of global conflict eight decades ago, these grounds here in Bletchley Park were the backdrop to a gathering of the United Kingdom’s best scientific minds, who mobilized technological advances in service of their country and their values.

Today we have invited you here to address a sociotechnical challenge that transcends national boundaries, and which compels us to work together in service of shared security and also shared prosperity.

Our task is as simple as it is profound: to develop artificial intelligence as a force for good.

The release of ChatGPT, not even a year ago, was a Sputnik moment in humanity’s history.

We were surprised by this progress — and we now see accelerating investment into and adoption of AI systems at the frontier, making them increasingly powerful and consequential to our lives.

These systems could free people everywhere from tedious work and amplify our creative abilities.

They could help our scientists unlock bold new discoveries, opening the door to a world potentially without diseases like cancer and with access to near-limitless clean energy.

But they could also further concentrate unaccountable power into the hands of a few, or be maliciously used to undermine societal trust, erode public safety, or threaten international security.

However, there is a significant debate that is very robust…and I am sure it’s going to be very robust with the attendees over the next two days.

Just about whether these risks will materialise.

How they will materialise.

And, potentially, when they will materialise.

Regardless, I believe we in this room have a responsibility to ensure that they never do.

Together, we have the resources and the mandate to uphold humanity’s safety and security, by creating the right guardrails and governance for the safe development and deployment of frontier AI systems.

But this cannot be left to chance, neglect, or to private actors alone.

And if we get this right – the coming years could be what the computing pioneer J.C.R. Licklider foresaw as “intellectually the most creative and exciting in the history of humankind.”

This is what we are here to discuss honestly and candidly together at this Summit.

Sputnik set off a global era of advances in science and engineering that spawned new technologies, institutions, and visions, and led humanity to the moon.

We, the architects of this AI era — policymakers, civil society, scientists, and innovators — must be proactive, not reactive, in steering this technology towards the collective good.

We must always remember that AI is not some natural phenomenon that is happening to us, but it is a product of human creation that we have the power to shape and direct.

And today we will help define the trajectory of this technology, to ensure public safety and that humanity flourishes in the years to come.

We will work through four themes of risks in our morning sessions, which will include demonstrations by researchers from the UK’s Frontier AI Taskforce.

Risks to global safety and security…

… Risks from unpredictable advances,

… from loss of control,

… and from the integration of this technology within our societies.

Now, some of these risks do already manifest as harms to people today and are exacerbated by advances at the frontier.

The existence of other risks is more contentious and polarizing.

But in the words of mathematician I.J. Good, a codebreaker colleague of Turing himself here at Bletchley Park, “It is sometimes worthwhile to take science fiction seriously.”

Today, is an opportunity to move the discussion forward from the speculative and philosophical further towards the scientific and the empirical.

Delegations and leaders from countries in attendance have already done so much work in advance of arriving…

…across a diverse geopolitical and geographical spectrum to agree the world’s first ever international statement on frontier AI – the Bletchley Declaration on AI Safety.

Published this morning, the Declaration is a landmark achievement and lays the foundations for today’s discussions.

It commits us to deepening our understanding of the emerging risks of frontier AI.

It affirms the need to address these risks – as the only way to safely unlock extraordinary opportunities.

And it emphasises the critical importance of nation states, developers and civil society, in working together on our shared mission to deliver AI safety.

But we must not remain comfortable with this Overton window.

We each have a role to play in pushing the boundaries of what is actually possible.

And that is what this afternoon will be all about, to discuss what actions different communities will need to take next, and to bring out diverse views, to open up fresh ideas and challenge them.

For developers to discuss emerging risk management processes for AI safety, such as responsible, risk-informed capability scaling.

For national and international policymakers to discuss pathways to regulation that preserve innovation and protect global stability.

For scientists and researchers to discuss the sociotechnical nature of [safety], and approaches to better evaluate the risks.

These discussions will set the tone of the Chair’s summary which will be published tomorrow. They will guide our collective actions in the coming year.

And this will lead up to the next summit, that I am delighted to share with you today will be hosted by the Republic of Korea in six months’ time. And then by France in one year’s time.

These outputs and this forward process must be held to a high standard, commensurate with the scale of the challenge at hand.

We have successfully addressed societal-scale risks in the past.

In fact, within just two years of the discovery of the hole in the Antarctic ozone layer, governments were able to work together to ratify the Montreal Protocol, and then change the behaviour of private actors to effectively tackle an existential problem.

We all now look back upon that with admiration and respect.

But for the challenges posed by frontier AI, how will future generations judge our actions here today?

Will we have done enough to protect them?

Will we have done enough to develop our understanding to mitigate the risks?

Will we have done enough to ensure their access to the huge upsides of this technology?

This is no time to bury our heads in the sand. And I believe that we don’t just have a responsibility, we also have a duty to act – and act now.

So, your presence here today shows that these are challenges we are all ready to meet head on.

The fruits of this summit must be clear-eyed understanding,  routes to collaboration, and bold actions to realise AI’s benefits whilst mitigating the risks.

So, I’ll end my remarks by taking us back to the beginning.

73 years ago, Alan Turing dared to ask if computers could one day think.

From his vantage point at the dawn of the field, he observed that “we can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”

Today we can indeed see a little further, and there is a great deal that needs to be done.

So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to work.

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 30 October 2023.

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 24 October 2023.

Firstly let me say a massive thank you to Onward.

I said when I first launched this new and exciting Department that people could expect to see a constant drumbeat of action from my officials, from my ministers and my entire team…

What I didn’t expect was for Onward to take that challenge on too!

From your brilliant report on generative AI earlier this year, to Allan Nixon’s Wired for Success Report which gave us insights into DSIT that illumined Whitehall.

And I hear through the grapevine that Onward are publishing another AI-focused report in the coming weeks, so I look forward to reading that.

It is safe to say that the world is now wide awake to the opportunities and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

In the last 3 years alone, MPs have mentioned Artificial Intelligence more times in the House of Commons than they did in the entire 30 years before that.

And when I stood up to give my first speech as the Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, I made it clear that we were going to be different and we were going to do things differently.

So, when it comes to AI, I think it is especially important because we cannot afford for DSIT to be a normal ‘business as usual’ Whitehall department.

Nor can we deliver extraordinary things without more extraordinary people in our Departmental team.

We need to be as agile, innovative and as accessible just like the entrepreneurs and businesses and researchers that we represent.

And I am pleased to report that we have done exactly that.

Over a matter of months we have added world-renowned AI experts to our Department and Taskforce…

From renowned AI professors like David Krueger and Yarin Gal…

To one of the Godfathers of AI, Yoshua Bengio….

With our skills, Frontier AI Taskforce and our global AI Safety Summit, it is clear that the UK is perfectly placed to lead the international charge on seizing the opportunities of AI whilst gripping the risks.

However, today I want to get beyond the statistics and go deeper into the philosophy that is driving our approach to AI.

Many of you will have heard me talk about AI safety being the UK’s priority, and how we can only truly utilise the extraordinary benefits AI has to offer once we have tackled some of the safety challenges associated with the frontier.

To some this may sound overcautious, or that we are being driven by fear of the risks rather than optimism about the opportunities. But actually I think it is rather about the opportunities that we are focusing on.

Today, I want to smash these myths head on.

Here at Onward, I want to set out how the UK’s approach to safety and security in AI will make it the best place in the world for new AI companies to not only grow but locate here.

Safety and security are key to unlocking innovation.

The country which tackles key AI safety risks  first will be the first to fully take advantage of the huge potential that AI has to provide.

That is why the UK is putting more investment into these questions right now than any other country in the world.

Questions like “how do we prevent misuse of Frontier AI by malicious actors?”

And “how do we ensure we don’t lose human control and oversight of this new technology?”

And how can we protect our society including our democratic system.

Think of how air travel – once considered a dangerous new technology by many – is now one of the safest and most beneficial technologies in human history.

We got there by working with countries across the world to make sure we have the right safety mechanisms in place –  and now we all reap the benefits of flying safely.

Safety is absolutely critical to unlocking adoption across our economy.

Boosting consumer confidence is what will make the difference between a country taking a few years to adopt new technology into their lives, or a few decades.

I want to make sure the UK is at the forefront of reaping the benefits of this transformative technology.

Our approach to AI has been commended for being agile, open and innovative.  But we need more research to guide our approach.

In many cases, we simply don’t understand the risks in enough detail or certainty right now because this an emerging technology that is developing quicker than any other technology in human history.

It took mankind just over a lifetime to go from the horse and cart to the space race.

Yet in the last four years large language models have gone from barely being able to write a coherent sentence to now being able to pass the bar exam and medical exams and who knows what large language models have are set to hold.

So the pace of development is fast and unpredictable which means our focus needs to be on understanding the risks.

And in life I do think its important to understand the problem before rushing to solutions. And with AI this should be no different.

That is why we established the Frontier AI Taskforce and have appointed a world-leading research team to turbo-charge our understanding of frontier AI with expert insights.

The Taskforce is already making rapid progress, forging partnerships with industry and developing innovative approaches to addressing the risks of AI and harnessing its benefits.

The Global AI Safety Summit is also an opportunity to build that understanding, share learnings and establish a network globally to work together to ensure our research can keep up with this transformative emerging technology.

Indeed, one of the key objectives of the Summit is to form an agreement on what the key risks actually are.

By bringing countries, leading tech organisations, academia and civil society together, the UK will lead the international conversation on frontier AI.

The global nature of AI means that international concerted action is absolutely critical. AI doesn’t stop at geographical boundaries and nor should our approach.

But of course, we do also need to make sure we have the right domestic approach in place to drive safe, responsible AI innovation.

Earlier this year we set out a principles-based approach through the AI Regulation White Paper.

Our approach is agile, targeted and sector-specific.

We here in the UK understand that AI use cases are drastically different across different sectors.

A one size fits all system that treats agri-tech the same way as military drones because they both use AI is unreasonable and undeliverable.

By empowering existing regulators to regulate AI in their own sectors where they have their own expertise, we have created the most tailored and responsive regulatory regime anywhere in the world.

We have also supported different sectors with a Central risk function – horizon scanning.

Later this year, we will publish a full response to our White Paper – showing how our approach is keeping pace with this transformative technology.

So, what does this all mean for small businesses?

The regulatory approach set out in the White Paper is specifically designed to be flexible, support innovation and ensure that small, new and challenger AI companies can grow and succeed here in the UK.

And indeed, we are already taking steps to deliver on those aims by working with the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum to pilot a new advisory service for AI and digital innovators so companies can bring their products more quickly and safely to market.

We want the UK to remain one of the most nimble and innovative places in the world for AI companies to grow.

That is why it is right to reaffirm our commitment to our principles-based approach to regulation whilst also taking bold steps to address risks at the frontier,

investing in world-class research capabilities and working closely with industry and civil society to make sure our AI governance approach keeps pace.

Our proportionate and targeted approach will enable us to foster innovation and encourage companies to grow to catch up with the frontier – because we are not pulling up the drawbridge –in fact what we want to do is give consumers and the public confidence to boost adoption and it will ensure we can seize the opportunities safely.

Far from a race to the bottom, the key AI developers across the world and here in the UK are telling me they are looking for countries where they will have certainty, clarity and support when it comes to building and deploying AI safely.

They want a mature, considered and agile approach to AI that maximises the potential for innovation by mitigating the risks.

They want to open up in countries where consumers are open-minded and excited about using their AI tools to improve their lives, which is why with the global AI Safety Summit, we are not only talking about risks, but also talking about opportunities for the benefit of mankind.

And the proof is in the pudding Open AI, Anthropic have opened their international offices here.

I want the UK people to use AI with the same confidence and lack of fear as we do when we book an airplane ticket.

And I want AI companies to know that the UK is the most up-to-date, agile and economically rewarding place in the world to build their business in.

So, to all the smaller AI companies out there, let me send this message out to you today: the UK is and will remain the most agile and innovative place for you to develop your business.

Safety at the frontier means prosperity across the sector.

We will grip the risks so that we can seize the opportunities.

Thank you.

The statement made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, in the House of Commons on 29 March 2023.

I am pleased and excited to announce that today, the Government are publishing their Artificial Intelligence Regulation White Paper.

AI is one of this Government’s five technologies of tomorrow—bringing stronger growth, better jobs, and bold new discoveries. As a general purpose technology, AI is already delivering wide social and economic benefits, from medical advances to the mitigation of climate change.

The UK has been at the forefront of this progress, placing third in the world for AI research and development. For example, an AI technology developed by DeepMind, a UK-based business, can now predict the structure of almost every protein known to science. This breakthrough has already helped scientists combat malaria, antibiotic resistance, and plastic waste, and will accelerate the development of life-saving medicines. There is more to come. AI has the potential to transform all areas of life and energise the UK economy. By unleashing innovation and driving growth, AI will create new, good-quality jobs. AI can also improve work by increasing productivity, and making workplaces safer for employees.

Through the national AI strategy, this Government are committed to strengthening the UK’s position as an AI powerhouse. For example, to boost skills and diversity in AI jobs, the Government have announced £23 million towards 2,000 new AI and data science conversion courses scholarships; £100 million towards AI centres for doctoral training at universities across the country; and over £46 million towards Turing AI fellowships, developing the next generation of top AI talent. Through the technology missions fund, we are investing £110 million in missions on AI for health, AI for net zero, trustworthy and responsible AI, and AI adoption and diffusion. These are part of our £485 million investment in the UKRI AI programme to continue the UK’s leadership in AI and support the transition to an AI-enabled economy.

We want the whole of society to benefit from the opportunities presented by AI and we know that to achieve this, AI has to be trustworthy. While it offers enormous potential, AI can also create new risks and present us with ethical challenges to address. We already know that some irresponsible uses of AI can damage our physical and mental health, create unacceptable safety risks, and undermine human rights. Proportionate regulation which mitigates these risks is key to building public trust and encouraging investment in AI businesses.

Businesses have consistently asked for clear, proportionate regulatory requirements and better guidance and tools to support responsible innovation. When we set out our proposals for a proportionate and pro-innovation approach in July last year, they received widespread support from industry. Our approach is in stark contrast to the rigid approaches taken elsewhere which risk stifling innovation and putting huge burdens on small business.

The recent report led by Sir Patrick Vallance—“regulation for innovation”—identified that we have a short window for the UK to take up a position as a global leader in foundational AI development and create an innovation-friendly approach to regulating AI. We know we need to act now. I am proud to set out a proportionate and future-proof framework for regulating this truly exciting, paradigm-shifting technology.

Our framework for AI regulation is outcome-focused, proportionate, and adaptable. It will be sensitive to context to avoid stifling innovation, and will prioritise collaboration—between Government, regulators, industry, academia, civil society and wider stakeholders. The framework will be underpinned by five principles. These five principles are a clear statement of what we think good, responsible, trustworthy AI looks like—reflecting the values at the core of our society. These are: safety, security and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness; accountability and governance; and contestability and redress. We will work with the UK’s highly regarded regulators and empower them to apply the five principles using their sector-specific expertise.

As automated decision-making systems are increasingly AI-driven, it is important to align the article 22 reforms in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill with the UK’s wider approach to AI regulation. The reforms in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill cast article 22 as a right to specific safeguards, rather than as a general prohibition on solely automated decision making and also clarify that a “solely” automated decision is one that is taken without any meaningful human involvement. Meaningful involvement means a human’s participation must go beyond a cursory or “rubber stamping” exercise—and assumes they understand the process and influence the outcome reached for the data subject.

AI opportunities and risks are emerging at an extraordinary pace. We need only look to the sudden increase in public awareness of generative AI over recent months as an example. As such, the framework will initially be introduced on a non-statutory basis and we are deliberately taking an iterative, collaborative approach—testing and learning, flexing and refining the framework as we go. This will allow us to respond quickly to advances in AI and to intervene further if necessary.

We will establish central functions to make sure our approach is working effectively and getting the balance right between supporting innovation and addressing risk. These will monitor how it is operating but also horizon scan so we understand how AI technology is evolving and how risks and opportunities are changing. Taking forward Patrick Vallance’s recommendation, they will also support the delivery of testbeds and sandbox initiatives to help AI innovators get AI technologies to market.

We are deliberately seeking to find the right balance between more rigid approaches to AI regulation on the one hand, and those who would argue that there is no need to intervene on the other. This position and this approach will protect our values, protect our citizens, and continue the UK’s reputation as the best place in the world to be a business developing and using AI.

Alongside this White Paper, we are also committed to strengthening UK AI capability. We are establishing a foundation model taskforce, a Government-industry team which will define and deliver the right interventions and investment in AI foundation models—a type of AI which looks set to be transformative—to ensure the UK builds its capability.

We recognise that there are many voices to be heard, and many ways that we can learn from across the whole of society, industry, academia, and our global partners. We have been engaging with regulators and a range of stakeholders as we develop our proposals and I actively encourage colleagues and stakeholders across the whole of the economy and society to respond to the consultation. I will be placing copies of the White Paper in the Libraries of both Houses, and it is also available on gov.uk.