The UK government has unveiled £82.6 million in new flexible forms of research funding, plus a new commitment to give UK researchers access to cutting-edge computing resources as part of a plan to unlock the power of AI.
Two of the three projects benefiting from this support will harness AI to develop treatments and diagnostics for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The government is putting £37.9 million backing behind three British research projects, the Research Ventures Catalyst (RVC) programme.
Together with a further £44.7 million in co-investment across the three projects, from other sources, this makes for a total £82.6 million backing.
The government has also expanded UK involvement in the European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking by committing £7.8 million to fund UK researchers and businesses’ participation in EuroHPC research.
This will mean British AI and high-performance computing researchers can work unobstructed with their peers across Europe.
The announcements were made at the AI Action Summit in France, where world leaders and AI companies held a series of talks focused on the opportunities the technology can deliver for communities across the globe
Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle said: “The focus of this Summit has been on how we can put AI to work in the public interest, and today’s announcements are living proof of how the UK is leading that charge through our Plan for Change.
“We’ve already set out a bold new blueprint for AI which will help to spark a decade of national renewal, and key to that plan is supporting our expert researchers and businesses with the support they need to drive forward their game-changing innovations.
“Today, we open new avenues for them to do exactly that – building bridges with our international partners so the entire global community can share in the boundless opportunities of AI-powered progress and backing new innovative companies applying AI to tackle real-world challenges.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting added: “NHS innovation saved my life when I was diagnosed with cancer and treated by a world-class surgeon equipped with a robot.
“I want more patients to benefit from this kind of groundbreaking treatment, and AI will be central to our efforts.
“This new funding is another step to unlock the enormous potential of AI for cancer research and drug discovery – ensuring more patients like me experience the highest quality care.
“AI will help us speed up diagnoses, cut waiting times for patients and free up staff, as we deliver our Plan for Change and shift the NHS from analogue to digital.”
