UK risks becoming 'AI customer' rather than creator, advisers warn

By Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Britain risks becoming a "high-value AI customer" rather than a country able to shape the technology unless it takes urgent action to build domestic capabilities, the government's top science advisers said on Monday.

Governments around the world are racing to build AI capabilities, driven by concerns that countries without their own expertise, computing infrastructure and models could become increasingly dependent on a handful of mostly U.S.-based companies that dominate the technology.

The Council for Science and Technology, an independent advisory body that advises the government on science and technology policy, said decisions made now would determine whether Britain captures the economic and public benefits of AI while maintaining resilience and strategic autonomy.

"The way for us to achieve AI sovereignty is to build trusted systems that deliver real public, economic and security benefits," the advisers said in an emailed letter to the AI minister, Kanishka Narayan.

The council warned that Britain was at risk of falling behind and becoming a "high-value AI customer, rather than a country able to shape the technology and its usage," without what it described as "deliberate and urgent action."

It recommended appointing a single government lead to coordinate AI sovereignty policy, investing in skills, data and computing infrastructure, and testing AI systems in areas including national security, health and education.

The advisers also said Britain should maintain access to the world's most advanced AI systems while developing some domestic capabilities of its own, including exploring a publicly governed British AI model that could be made available to researchers, startups and public services.

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by Paul Sandle)