Tech companies to access UK health data under AI growth plan

Archives of scans, biodata and anonymised patient records will be used to train machine learning models

Keir Starmer, right, speaks with researchers and professors during a visit to the Manufacturing Futures Lab at UCL (University College London) in London, England after announcing a new AI growth plan. APShow less

Tech companies will be offered access to the UK’s health data under plans to place Britain at the centre of the development of artificial intelligence.

Archives of scans, biodata and anonymised patient records will be used to train AI models as the UK seeks to become a world leader in the sector.

The government has also pledged to increase the UK's computing capacity by 20-fold by 2030, including building a new supercomputer to boost GDP growth.

They are among 50 recommendations the government is taking forward from tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, who was commissioned by Science Secretary Peter Kyle to come up with a plan to identify AI opportunities.

Giving the government's reaction to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that while there may be some “teething problems” with AI, the technology has the potential to revolutionise public services and boost economic productivity, adding that Britain would become an “AI superpower”.

“Some countries are going to make AI opportunities and export them,” Mr Starmer said. “Others will end up buying those breakthroughs and importing them. The question is which of those will Britain be: an AI maker or an AI taker?

“Right now, the investors, the entrepreneurs, the researchers, who will make those breakthroughs are looking around the world. They’re choosing where to make their home. Trillions of pounds worth of investment [are] at stake. The battle for the jobs of tomorrow is happening today.”

The plan will also see the government create a series of AI “growth zones”, including in Culham, Oxfordshire, where it will accelerate planning approvals for data centres and improve access to the energy grid.

Mr Starmer said that through the growth zones, the companies operating in the UK's AI industry will “shape the future” and “make the breakthroughs”.

“There’s a reason why Open AI, Anthropic and Nscale chose London as their international office,” he added. “There’s a reason why Mistral AI, one of the champions of Open Source have just announced a London office too.

“We’ve got Wave building the tech to drive a new generation of self-driving vehicles, Synthesia leading the world in AI-powered video and Blackstone building Europe’s largest data centre in Northumberland. We’re number one in Europe for AI investment. We’ve already attracted more than £25 billion and that’s just in the time that this government has been in office.”

The previous government had said it would support an exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, but the plans were shelved shortly after Labour came to power, with the government saying the Conservatives had failed to allocate any money to the project.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a healthcare provider in Surrey. Reuters

“This is a plan which puts us all-in – backing the potential of AI to grow our economy, improve lives for citizens and make us a global hub for AI investment and innovation,” said Mr Clifford.

Ministers hope the announcement on Monday will bring some optimism amid headlines warning of sluggish growth, inflation and the rising cost of borrowing.

The government is not just hoping to attract AI investment with its action plan, but also spur the adoption of the technology across Whitehall in a bid to improve productivity and cut costs.

Mr Starmer has written to Cabinet ministers ordering them to make driving AI adoption and growth in their departments a top priority.

“The AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won't sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers,” he said.

“And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.”

Teams will be set up to pilot AI in the public sector and keep Britain at the cutting edge of emerging technology.

Alexander Iosad, director of government innovation at the Tony Blair Institute, welcomed the plan, saying AI could “help take care of drudgery in the public sector”, helping retain more staff who are currently “overwhelmed and overworked”.

“AI is no longer an if, or even a when; it is here and it is urgent,” he added.

“The opportunities for Britain's economy and our public services are too great for us to ignore.”

Ministers have billed the action plan as a sharp change from the approach of the previous government, which they say focused too much on safety and not enough on the opportunities AI provided.

But as well as safety, the Government must address competing demands from different sectors such as the creative industries.

Artists and media companies have complained that AI developers' use of their material in training programmes such as ChatGPT has infringed their copyright. The government is currently consulting on the issue.

The AI plan set out the government's approach to building the infrastructure required to develop AI. This includes building more data centres, something the government has appeared to make a real focus for the UK, including declaring them “critical national infrastructure” in September.

“I’m really pleased to announce here today that Kyndryl are investing in a new technology hub in Liverpool,” Mr Starmer said on Monday. “That alone will create 1,000 new jobs. Also, Nscale are investing £2 billion and Vantage Data Centres another £12 billion, making £14 billion of new investment in data centres across the UK, creating another 12,000 jobs.”

Energy-hungry AI

In addition, the government will have to address the energy and water needs of the AI industry, with the technology requiring significant amounts of both to operate.

Under Monday's plan, Mr Kyle and the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, will chair an AI Energy Council tasked with understanding the demands and challenges AI presents for energy companies.

But shadow science secretary Alan Mak dismissed the proposals, saying Labour's plan “will not support the UK to become a tech and science superpower”.

“They're delivering analogue government in a digital age,” he said.

“Shaping a successful AI future requires investment, but in the six months leading up to this plan, Labour cut £1.3 billion in funding for Britain's first next-generation supercomputer and AI research whilst imposing a national insurance jobs tax that will cost business in the digital sector £1.66 billion.

“AI does have the potential to transform public services, but Labour's economic mismanagement and uninspiring plan will mean Britain is left behind.”