UK science council urges swift investment to avoid dependence on foreign AI

The Council for Science and Technology, which advises the prime minister and cabinet, told AI minister Kanishka Narayan that without urgent action the UK risks becoming a high-value AI customer rather than a technology shaper. Its July correspondence urged a clear AI sovereignty plan, including a comprehensive infrastructure map, a dedicated official to steer investments, and stronger domestic talent and data pipelines.

The advisers also suggested piloting British AI models in sectors such as health and security, allocating national supercomputing capacity for these trials, and considering an open-source model from the Alan Turing Institute. The appeal arrives as the government’s £500 million Sovereign AI Fund has begun backing startups like Augur, which now accesses the Isambard-AI supercomputer. Industry leaders, including Starling Bank CIO Harriet Rees, have warned that £500 million is insufficient and called for over £20 billion in sovereign AI spending over five years. While the council does not demand full technological independence, it stresses targeted domestic investment alongside continued use of global AI systems.