Eight years ago I moved to the UK from Denmark because I thought London was the best city in Europe for founders wanting to build tech companies. I still think this is true today: we have a thriving academic community, a strong pipeline of tech talent and investment capital, and a government that recognizes the transformative power of AI.
Now more than ever, the UK has a real opportunity to become a world leader in the development and adoption of artificial intelligence. The national AI strategy And the £1bn AI sector deal were positive signs. However, if we are to remain competitive with the US and China, the UK government needs to consider updating its industrial strategy to better support UK AI startups.
On April 16, I had the pleasure of speaking to the UK Parliament’s Business and Commerce Committee on how industrial policy can be used to leverage the UK’s strengths and competitive advantages. Here are three key measures I highlighted to the committee that could boost the UK’s AI industry.
Provide affordable access to computing power via GPU credits or cloud resources
Training cutting-edge AI models requires immense processing power in the form of high-performance GPUs. For example, it was necessary 3 million GPU hours for an Nvidia A100 processor to drive Meta’s Llama 2 models. Renting equivalent cloud computing capacity today would cost around $15-20 million, not to mention added storage and operating costs. These are staggering amounts that can be prohibitive for most startups, even those like Synthesia that have reached unicorn status.
The government could offer credits or subsidized rates to UK AI companies to give them access to world-class cloud computing resources. However, it is important to note that this access should not be through new supercomputers or national data centers, because no one will use them. Instead, this should be made easier for any startup, through existing cloud providers such as Microsoft, Google or AWS. India, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates are already adopting this approach, recognizing the value of access to hardware for their AI ecosystems.
Open public datasets for research and development
Data is the fuel that powers great AI models. The UK has a wealth of public data assets in areas such as health, transport and climate, which could be opened up to startups and researchers to create powerful AI applications that would benefit the good audience.
Properly anonymised, these datasets represent a competitive advantage that the UK should exploit. For example, the NHS in England has recently faced worst wait times ever recorded for cancer patients. There are many promising AI startups develop tools for cancer imaging and diagnosis and computational modeling for drug design and predictive therapies – access to anonymized health data could significantly improve the accuracy of their machine learning models, leading to better allocation of resources in hospitals or faster diagnosis and care for patients.
Compelling the adoption of AI in public services to create a market
If the UK government committed to adopting AI in areas such as healthcare delivery, education or the operation of smart cities, it would create an integrated market and use cases for startups to create innovative solutions. This would spur more investment and create a virtuous cycle of AI growth and public impact.
In the United States, President Biden has ordered all federal agencies to appoint chief AI officers to oversee the development and adoption of AI by the federal government. The UK government could go further and set specific targets and metrics for the use of AI within its departments, creating the kind of ongoing, consistent demand that would motivate the private and public sectors to collaborate more effectively.
It must be recognized that the UK government has taken a balanced and pragmatic approach to AI to date, including proposing regulation focused on managing real risks and encouraging socially beneficial innovation. Rather than pre-emptively banning certain uses of AI or getting lost in unnecessary debates about existential risks, the UK’s AI regulatory proposals aim to develop safeguards and best practices in areas such as transparency, human oversight and ethical considerations.
This measured position, which embraces both innovation and responsible development, is prudent. He recognizes that AI is too powerful an opportunity to squander with harsh restrictions. At the same time, proactive governance is necessary to build trust and ensure that AI systems remain aligned with our existing laws and ethical values.
Every day, I have the chance to speak to business leaders around the world, from small business owners to Fortune 100 executives, who are considering deploying AI at scale in their organizations. We all agree that AI will fundamentally transform every industry and sector of the economy, from healthcare and scientific research to transportation, manufacturing and education. This will in turn fuel economic growth, create new jobs and improve living standards in countries at the forefront of the global AI revolution.
By investing in affordable computing power, opening up data assets and creating a robust market for AI services, the UK can establish itself as a true AI superpower. Through balanced regulation and ecosystem support, UK AI startups and entrepreneurs can cement the UK’s status as a global leader in this transformative technology.
Victor Riparbelli is the CEO and co-founder of Synthesia.
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