UK backs new AI labs to make technology cheaper, more reliable and easier to use

Oxford and UCL to host new government-backed labs developing the next generation of AI that more businesses and services can readily use

Two new research labs led by Oxford and University College London will share up to £60 million in government funding to develop new breakthroughs in AI on British shores, it has been announced today (Tuesday 23 June).

AI has quickly gone from being the staple of science fiction to something people use everyday – at work, in schools and public services. That includes in hospitals where it is screening patients for cancer, in the energy sector designing better batteries, and accelerating drug discovery in medicine.

But we are still only scratching the surface of what AI could potentially deliver for the economy, public services, and society. The UK is uniquely placed to spearhead the fundamental work that could make AI cheaper to run, more dependable, and easier for businesses, researchers and public services across the UK to adopt and use. 

Supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the labs will open up entirely new avenues for what AI can do – from building open-source technologies that run on widely available hardware, which could include ordinary consumer computers, to rethinking how AI systems learn without requiring vast centralised computing power.