How Britain plans to become an AI superpower

On Monday 13 January 2025, the UK government unveiled its AI Opportunities Action Plan (“report”). The report sets out an ambitious strategy for cementing the UK’s status as a global leader in the field of AI, setting out 50 recommendations, each of which is aimed at supporting the AI sector and taking down barriers to growth. This article summarises the key elements of the report and its legal, regulatory and commercial implications.

Overview

The report was produced by technology entrepreneur, Matt Clifford. It comprises three primary areas of focus for the government:

1. providing the foundations required to enable AI;
2. encouraging AI adoption; and
3. ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of technological advancement in AI.

To empower the UK to become a key player in AI, the report discusses the need for:

• additional infrastructure to be backed by a 10-year investment commitment;
• strategies to utilise existing data resources;
• strategies to attract top talent;
• engagement from regulators to enable the maintenance of the current pro-innovation approach to regulation;
• investing significantly in the development of new AI assurance tools; and
• scaling up the use of AI in the public sector to increase quality and efficiency of services

Proposed key initiatives

The report recommends the following key initiatives:

• the creation of a new government unit, UK Sovereign AI to ensure that “…the UK benefits economically from AI advancement and has influence on future AI’s values, safety and governance”.
• The establishment of so-called AI Growth Zones (“AIGZs”) to attract “…private capital to boost our domestic compute portfolio and… build strategic partnerships with AI developers…”. Clifford suggests that this could be achieved through the introduction of “…a streamlined planning approvals process…” and “…a bespoke planning use-class” whilst also citing this as an opportunity to drive local rejuvenation in areas with excess land and power.
• The creation of a National Data Library (“NDL”) to facilitate the training and progress of frontier AI. This would comprise a combination of existing datasets held by the government and the collection of specific types of data that are deemed “strategically significant” going forward.
• Ensuring the relevant training to meet future demand for AI skills by upskilling the UK workforce. Clifford suggests that this could be accomplished by increasing the diversity of the talent pool, increasing the number of pathways into careers in AI beyond the currently dominant higher education pathway and introducing undergraduate and postgraduate AI scholarships for those showing “…exceptional promise”.

The question of AI regulation

As we are preparing for a radical technological revolution that will impact each area of our society, we are only beginning to understand the risks involved.  Opinions differ on the question of whether AI should be more regulated and, if so, how.

The reports suggests that “the UK’s current pro-innovation approach to regulation is a source of strength relative to other more regulated jurisdictions and we should be careful to preserve this.” At the same time, it acknowledges that “well-designed and implemented regulation, alongside effective assurance tools, can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.”  A balancing act must be struck between providing freedom to AI businesses whilst ensuring public safety and clear guidance to businesses. This builds on the approach outlined in the conservative government’s policy paper titled “A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation” which seeks to apply existing legislation and regulation to the AI space rather than creating new AI specific regulation.

Data protection

Since many AI systems collect a vast amount of personal data, UK GDPR compliance will be a key tool in regulating AI. Yet, applying existing data protection laws in the AI context can be difficult.  More guidance would assist businesses in navigating this complicated area of law. The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) is currently reviewing the intersection of generative AI and data protection, and how the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply.

We assume that personal data will also be collected by the proposed National Data Library. The government will need to decide whether such data should be anonymised and, if not, how to ensure compliance with the UK GDPR’s overarching principles, particularly transparency, purpose limitation, accountability and accuracy.

Intellectual property rights

Another key issue that will need to be resolved is the application of intellectual property laws to AI generated content.

Clifton states that “the current uncertainty around intellectual property (IP) is hindering innovation and undermining our broader ambitions for AI, as well as the growth of our creative industries. This has gone on too long and needs to be resolved”. The UK Intellectual  Property Office has therefore launched a consultation on AI and copyright to gather views from the industry on how to regulate this area.

The position under the EU AI Act is that “any use of copyright protected content requires the authorisation of the rightsholder concerned unless relevant copyright exceptions. and limitations apply”. This sounds like a clear rule, but it’s not always easy to say what this means in practice in an AI context. Arguably, the same legal principle as set in the EU AI Act applies in the UK under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, unless we create a new AI specific deviation.  It remains to be seen how the government and the courts will approach this issue.

Commercialisation

The rapid pace of technological advancement and the lack of a clear playbook from regulators does not only create regulatory issues, but also commercial risks. The objective to facilitate innovation by new regulation, could be a double-edged sword. Whilst it provides freedom to experiment while AI is in its infancy, less regulation also means less certainty about the rules and rights that apply. This can make it difficult for the market to plan and future-proof their AI models and use applications.

Over time, more regulation is bound to be created and the compliance burden on businesses will become more complicated. Developers and users of AI technology will have to stay on top of legal developments.  Indeed, current AI models may soon become non-compliant as new standards and laws are developed. This creates operational risks for anybody investing in AI technology.

Conclusions

The report suggests how to embrace and leverage the AI revolution that has started to change the world in unprecedented ways. It provides recommendations to address some of the biggest hurdles facing the UK in its aspiration to become an AI superpower. They pave the way for leveraging this exciting new technology, but they also come with challenges for both businesses and law makers alike. We will need to continue this conversation as AI is here to stay and change our society whether we like it or not.