The UK is aiming to capitalise on the seismic opportunity presented by artificial intelligence (AI) with its ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’. What does the plan outline, and is it likely to become a genuine success?
On Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled its ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’ to establish the UK as an ‘AI superpower’, to enhance services and growth, while creating thousands of new jobs.
Through the new Action Plan, the UK Government is looking to ensure that AI helps drive economic growth; benefits working people by improving healthcare and education’; as well as by increasing the prevalence of AI in people’s working lives to ensure it creates new opportunities – instead of threatening traditional patterns of work, as many currently fear.
Starmer detailed how AI can help enhance the lives of working people across a wide variety of industries – from helping speed up planning consultations to speed up building work and reducing admin for teachers, to helping cameras spot potholes to ensure our roads are kept in better condition.
The announcement comes as three major private tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – committed to £14billion investment in the UK to build the required AI infrastructure and to deliver 13,250 jobs. This commitment is on top of the £25billion in AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit last year.
As Starmer publically outlined the plans for the first time, he explained: “The investors, the entrepreneurs, and the researchers who will make those breakthroughs are looking around the world and choosing where to make their home. Trillions of pounds worth of investment is at stake. The battle for the jobs of tomorrow is happening today.”
Taking the AI reigns
“Our research found that AI could either lead to eight million job losses and no GDP gains, or no job losses and GDP gains worth up to £306billion a year. The government has today made it clear that it understands this potential and the need to steer AI towards a positive scenario,” explains Carsten Jung, head of AI at Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). “The government has fired the starting gun on giving AI deployment more strategic direction. Next to productivity, AI should also help solve big social challenges such as poor health and the energy transition.”
Now the dust has settled following the announcement, we explore how industry experts perceive the plans to find out whether the general feeling is optimistic, or if the plans have failed to hit the mark.
‘Long overdue’
Niamh Kingsley, head of product innovation and AI at global financial services provider Delta Capita, explains why she thinks the move is positive: “In my mind, the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan signifies a long overdue advancement in our national technological strategy. The initiative to enhance AI computing capacity and establish AI growth zones is a sensible and commendable investment in our digital infrastructure.
“However, we need to be sure there is sufficient nuance when it comes to addressing access to data, i.e., regarding the proposal to grant tech companies access to NHS health.
“Prioritisation of customer and patient consent and data security is essential to maintain public trust, especially as we see a global shift in technology towards reduced safeguarding (particularly in the US). Furthermore, whilst it’s reassuring to see reform of immigration policies to attract global AI talent, we need to see concurrent investment in domestic education and training programs, ensuring a sustainable and inclusive AI ecosystem in the UK.
“As always, balancing innovation with ethical considerations will be crucial as we navigate this transformative landscape, but on balance, this is a positive and reassuring Action Plan.”
Falling behind already?
Phillip Mortimer, CTO and chief data scientist at AI-powered private markets tech firm Accelex, also shares his optimism, but warns that the UK must tread carefully: “The Prime Minister’s announcement today underscores the UK’s commitment to leading the global AI revolution. With competition intensifying, the UK stands out as one of the leading advocates for responsible AI development.
“It is encouraging to see a strong focus on investments in energy supply and infrastructure, but a commitment to an initial 100MW of datacentre capacity is an order of magnitude less than the ambitions of the silicon valley giants. To put this in context, in building its colossus AI supercomputer, xAI deployed 150MW of GPU computing in less than a month last year.
“Seven recommendations around unlocking public sector data assets is commendable, but the UK needs to ensure that it does not undervalue what would be one of the largest and most comprehensive public sector data assets in the world.
“To maintain the UK’s edge, the success of the second pillar of the government’s plan—adoption—is crucial. Broad adoption of AI across public and private sectors holds the promise of unlocking immense efficiencies and driving significant economic gains, with the potential to supercharge the economy and redefine how we live and work.
“The UK has a tremendous opportunity to harness this incredible technology and solidify its leadership in AI—if it gets this right.”
Addressing cultural shifts
Dr Gordon Fletcher, associate dean: research and innovation, at the University of Salford’s Business School, also recognises the value of the government initiative, although highlights another a major challenge: “It is unfortunate that, over the last two years, the public imagination of AI has been primarily focused on chat-based generative AI.
“For many, the PM’s statement will simply sound like the plan is to build some form of UK chatbot. With this perspective, the perceived benefits will be on efficiency gains rather than growing the economy through generating knowledge, invention and discovering new applications for the spectrum of AI technology. This is the political challenge of winning hearts and minds, but it is also the basis of the huge underlying task that the announcement represents.
“There is infrastructure and the significant financial commitment needed to build new, innovative – and useful – models that are built on ethical principles and that avoid duplicating the effort and investment that has already happened with the (primarily) US technology companies.
“There is also the issue of skills development for future AI that has received less attention with this announcement. This is most likely not the case for creating prompt engineers. New models and evolving technology will make this need a temporary need for the current state of AI. Understanding the genuine skills and training needs involves the wider cultural change that the PM’s statement asks for.
“An AI superpower asks for a culture of innovation, of using software as the tools of a new industrial revolution to create new services and even imagining entirely new sectors of the economy. That is a big ask, but it is one that could be triggered through sovereign AI with the right commitment and support.”
The UK’s pro-innovation stance
“We are facing mounting economic uncertainty, and the Government is under pressure to act boldly, as it faces criticism of its handling of the economy and, in particular, its ability to understand business,” says Chris Williams, partner at global law firm Clyde & Co. “So it’s little surprise that talk around AI safety has given way to more ambitious pledges to make the UK an ‘AI superpower’. Equally, it’s significant that there is no mention of introducing new AI-specific laws or the establishment of an AI regulator, including safeguarding personal data and intellectual property rights.
“The UK must be seen as an attractive place to do business if it hopes to encourage investment from tech firms, and this ideally requires favourable legislation. AI will be crucial for the development of many industries, and the Government itself has the potential to be a consumer of the technology, from healthcare use cases to road infrastructure – so it has the opportunity to dangle the carrot of potentially lucrative contracts to entice tech companies to establish themselves and innovate here.
“Ultimately, the ‘pro-innovation’ approach of the previous government seems very much alive.”
Backing generative AI
“Generative AI is reshaping technology across banking, insurance, finance, and beyond, delivering unparalleled efficiency and innovation,” adds Teo Blidarus, co-founder and CEO of FintechOS. “The UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan is a step in the right direction. It commits to game-changing infrastructure investments, including a twenty-fold boost in UK-based computing power. This addresses critical data privacy concerns and sets the stage for a more resilient AI ecosystem.
“But let’s be clear—startups and scale-ups are the beating heart of AI innovation. These agile companies are not just adopting AI but defining its future. Fintechs, in particular, are leading the charge with agentic AI platforms that bring autonomous decision-making to banks, insurers, and financial institutions, driving the next wave of transformation.
“To unlock the true potential of AI in the UK, the government must go beyond broad infrastructure plans and ensure targeted support for scaling innovators. Startups are the catalysts turning ambition into action, enabling industries to embrace AI at scale. Let’s ensure they have the resources and regulatory clarity to succeed. This is how we’ll power an AI-driven economy—not just for today but for the future.”
