The UK Government’s newly published AI Opportunities Action Plan has been ‘hugely welcomed’ by leading technology bodies in Scotland – including the national innovation centre for data and AI and Scotland’s main supercomputing hub.

Under the proposals, a series of AI Growth Zones would be created around the UK, including in post-industrial towns and coastal areas of Scotland, where there are significant energy resources to supply power-hungry AI data centres.

The first will be the Culham Science Centre, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s headquarters in Oxfordshire, which has access to significant power and land.

Such developments will ‘lay the foundations to enable AI’ and catalyse the UK economy, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a video recording announcing the government’s plans to support a sector that has attracted £25 billion in investment.

The UK Government accepted all 50 recommendations in the report, which were set out by entrepreneur and founder Matt Clifford.

Heather Thomson, interim CEO of The Data Lab, Scotland’s innovation centre for data and AI, said: “The investment in AI in today’s AI Action Plan is hugely welcomed. Following the comment by Richard Lochead, MSP, on the opportunity of AI for Scotland, we wholeheartedly agree that Scotland is already well-placed to deliver on this with significant potential to benefit society for all and grow the economy.

“We see daily how AI can benefit all sectors, from health and social care to construction. The commitment to carry out the recommendations set out in the plan is significant and will help transform lives across the UK, supporting talent development, safe AI adoption and economic growth. Supporting the development and diversity of talent in AI is an important step to help meet the increasing demand for these skills. The creation of AI Growth Zones will also fuel innovation and growth and bringing these zones to Scotland would ensure new and innovative ideas continue to flourish.”

Stewart Miller, CEO of the National Robotarium in Edinburgh, said: “Today’s announcement of the AI Opportunities Action Plan represents a significant step forward for the UK’s technology sector. As the physical manifestation of AI in our world, robotics will be crucial to delivering the Government’s vision for AI-driven economic growth and public service transformation.

“At the National Robotarium, we’re already demonstrating how AI-enabled robotics can transform healthcare delivery, support offshore energy maintenance, and drive manufacturing innovation. The commitment to establish AI Growth Zones and increase compute capacity will be particularly valuable in accelerating the development and deployment of next-generation robotics solutions.”

Professor Mark Parsons, EPCC Director and dean of research computing, who runs Edinburgh University’s supercomputer hub at Easter Bush, welcomed the plan, and said the university has been at the heart of AI research for the last 60 years.

He said: “We note the focus on the need for greater supercomputing capacity within both the public and private sectors, and the plans to increase this twenty-fold by 2030. As the host of national supercomputing services for Government for the past 30 years, we stand ready to play our part in this endeavour.

“The highly successful Data Driven Innovation programme, a key part of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, has shown how the availability of AI services at a regional level can deliver huge economic and skills benefits. We hope to lead the development of an AI Growth Zone in our region.”

Professor Parsons also drew a distinction between computing infrastructure designed for AI purposes, and supercomputers. An AI computer is designed to learn from data and make decisions, while a supercomputer is built to solve huge, complex problems like simulating the weather or running scientific experiments.

He added: “As the AI Opportunities Action Plan notes, the case for non-AI supercomputing is already well established, including the need to deliver an exascale capability.

“We are continuing discussions with the DSIT and UKRI to ensure there is no break in continuity of national supercomputing provision which supports innovative scientific and industrial research from all of the UK. AI and traditional supercomputing are not in competition, they complement each other.”

Under the plans, the UK Government will introduce:

  • AI Growth Zones – Starting in Culham, Oxfordshire, the government will support streamlined planning application process to speed up the development of AI-capable data centres. The plan stated: ‘Government can also use AIGZs to drive local rejuvenation, channelling investment into areas with existing energy capacity such as post-industrial towns and coastal Scotland.’
  • Supercomputing power to be increased twenty-fold. Bristol’s Isambard AI and Cambridge’s Dawn at heart of plans to  double the capacity of national AI Research Resource (AIRR) with Edinburgh’s Archer2 also set to benefit.
  • The creation of a ‘National Data Library’. The proposal would support AI research in key sectors, including life sciences. The government will work to identify at least 5 high impact public data sets to spearhead plan.
  • Build the talent pipeline – The government will support Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to increase the numbers of AI graduates and teach industry-relevant skills.
  • Sovereign AI – Signalling an intent to enter the ‘global AI race’, the government will strengthen the UK’s sovereign AI capabilities by supporting national champions at the frontier of AI.

Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said: “This plan shows how we can shape the application of AI within a modern social market economy. We will do so by working closely with the world’s leading AI companies, Britain’s world leading academics and entrepreneurs, and those talented individuals keen to start-up and scale-up their businesses here.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Artificial Intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation. It is not a technology that is coming; a future revolution on the horizon. It is already here, materially changing lives – preventing illness in our NHS, creating exciting new companies in our economy, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery in our universities. It will turbocharge every mission in this government’s Plan for Change. And the potential for further innovation is vast.

“AI-powered scans can help doctors detect disease earlier. AI can cut NHS waiting lists by scheduling better appointments. It allows teachers to personalise their lessons to their children’s needs. It can support small businesses with their record-keeping, spot potholes more quickly, and help speed up planning applications. Indeed, right across our public services, it offers frontline staff the precious gift of time. A chance to reconnect with the human, face-to-face aspects of their job, which I know is something that attracts so many people to public service in the first place.”

A Scottish Government Spokesperson said: “We await further detail from the UK Government on its proposals regarding information-sharing with AI businesses. Just like any other sector that interacts with our public health services, we would expect any proposals to meet the highest legal and ethical standards, ensuring patient safety and confidentiality is not compromised in any way.”