The UK government has announced that it will provide $124.4million in funding to establish an expert AI taskforce, known as the Foundation Model Taskforce. This body will work towards ensuring the UK’s sovereign capabilities and widespread adoption of safe and reliable foundation models in order to position the country as a global science and technology superpower by 2030. Foundation models are a category of artificial intelligence systems trained on huge volumes of data such as text, images, video or audio to gain broad and sophisticated capabilities across many tasks. Large language models such as Google Bard and ChatGPT are examples of foundation models.

The Taskforce will focus on developing the safe and reliable use of foundation models across the economy, thus ensuring that the UK can remain globally competitive in this strategically important technology. By using foundation models, AI will contribute billions of pounds to the UK’s GDP. Research also suggests that broad adoption of such systems could triple national productivity growth rates. In areas such as healthcare and education, this type of AI has enormous potential to transform the delivery of public services.

The Taskforce will invest the funding in foundation model infrastructure and public service procurement to promote domestic innovation. Within six months, the first pilots focusing on public services are expected to launch. The Taskforce will be headed by an expert Chair, whose appointment will be announced later in the summer. Meanwhile, Matt Clifford, Chair of the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency, will advise the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary on the development of the Taskforce. The Taskforce will comprise government and industry experts and will report directly to the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary.

The Foundation Model Taskforce was announced as part of the Integrated Review Refresh in March 2023. At a recent Cabinet meeting, ministers agreed on AI’s potential, the importance of public trust, and the need for regulation. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that investing in emerging technologies through the Taskforce can lead to developing safe and trustworthy AI, better-paid jobs, and advances in healthcare and security.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan stated that AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we develop new medical treatments, tackle climate change, and improve public services while growing and future-proofing our economy. She emphasized the urgency of taking action now to capture the potential benefits of AI in the future. The Taskforce will prioritize the safety and reliability of such systems to ensure that the public and businesses have the trust they need to confidently adopt this technology and fully realize its benefits.