- Oxford and UCL to host new government-backed labs developing the next generation of AI that more businesses and services can readily use
- AI is already helping to diagnose cancer sooner and make our energy systems more resilient – these 2 new labs will ensure British people continue to benefit as the technology advances
- Backed with up to £60 million and access to large-scale computing power, the labs will build the foundations for the next wave of AI breakthroughs to be made in Britain
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.
By focusing on changes to the fundamentals of AI that could lower costs and improve performance, the work will help open AI to far more organisations – supporting new breakthroughs, boosting productivity and accelerating innovation across the UK.
With some of the world’s leading universities at the heart, the UK is uniquely placed to lead this work – helping to shore up our economic and national security.
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said
We are only just beginning to unlock AI’s huge potential to grow our economy and improve our public services. With our world-leading universities and deep pool of AI expertise, Britain can set the agenda for what comes next.
These new labs will lead the world in the fundamental work that is set to make AI cheaper, more practical and easier to adopt so more businesses and public services across the UK can benefit.
And by building this capability here at home, backed by our world leading universities, we’re strengthening our own expertise, reducing reliance on others and securing Britain’s place at the forefront of this technology – fittingly announced on what would have been Alan Turing’s 114th birthday.
UCL Lead Professor David Barber said
We’re very excited that UCL will be the leading the new SOFAIR Lab. While current AI systems are impressive, many still suffer from basic issues such as inaccurate responses to questions. These systems often use similar underlying architectures, so SOFAIR will bring together the broader sciences and fresh ideas to create a new generation of open-source models. This will reduce dependency on the small number of model providers, boosting UK sovereignty and its position as a global player in AI.
Oxford University Associate Professor Jakob Foerster said
The UK cannot win the global AI race simply by trying to outspend the largest technology companies on data and compute. BOLD is about a different route discovering fundamentally new ways to build AI that are more efficient, more open and better aligned with human needs.
By focusing on new paradigms for learning, rather than only scaling existing methods, we aim to help secure the UK’s sovereign capability in AI and ensure that academic research can shape the future of the field.
Professor Charlotte Deane, Senior Responsible Owner for the UKRI AI Programme and Executive Chair of EPSRC, said
The UK is already one of the world’s leading nations in AI research.
We are one of the few countries in the world with all the right ingredients, from a deep pool of top AI experts to world-class universities.
These labs will put that advantage to work, backing the bold, high-reward ideas that can shape the future of AI. We look forward to working with the labs to maximise the benefits for the UK.
The Science of Fundamental AI Research (SOFAIR) Lab will develop new open-source AI technologies that can run on widely available hardware.
Led by Professor David Barber at UCL alongside the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Edinburgh, it will bring together researchers from across computer science, mathematics, statistics and neuroscience to explore new ways to design AI systems. This will make advanced AI tools cheaper and more accessible
The British Open-ended Learning and Discovery (BOLD) Lab will rethink how AI learns from the world around us.
Led by Professor Jakob Foerster at the University of Oxford, with UCL and Imperial College London, the lab will develop systems that can learn more efficiently, adapt to new situations and navigate physical spaces. By focusing on practical, human centred AI, the lab will help turn research into tools that can be used in workplaces, infrastructure and public services – supporting wider adoption across the economy.
Government is making up to £60 million available through UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to support these labs over the next 6 years, alongside access to large scale computing power worth tens of millions of pounds – essentially the processing power to run and train AI models.
Today’s announcement goes further than first planned, doubling the number of labs from one to two and increasing total investment from £40 million to up to £60 million – reflecting the scale of opportunity for the UK.
Both labs will invest in top AI researchers at every career stage, with £2 million per lab earmarked for hiring at least 10 doctoral students – helping to build and grow the UK’s talent. The labs will also work closely with existing leaders in British AI research like the Alan Turing Institute and UKRI’s AI research hubs.
The funding forms part of the UKRI AI Strategy – a £1.6 billion plan to strengthen the UK’s leadership in AI over the next 4 years. With world-class universities, leading researchers and a growing AI sector, the UK is well placed not just to develop AI, but to ensure more organisations can use it -strengthening the country’s capability, resilience and long-term growth.
ENDS