CaMS has written to Matt Clifford CBE, AI Opportunities Action Plan lead, to offer our assistance as part of his review into the ways artificial intelligence can drive economic growth and create opportunity.
Clifford, who also chairs the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), was appointed by Science Secretary Peter Kyle to lead this work. The AI Opportunities Action Plan will identify new applications for AI which will improve productivity and the quality of services. Clifford will deliver an initial set of recommendations to the Science Secretary in September.
The UK’s future success depends on clear leadership and a firm signal from Government that AI is being prioritised and supported by strategic investment in critical national infrastructure. CaMS has offered to provide detailed evidence which outlines the importance of the mathematical sciences in pushing forward the frontiers of AI and related disruptive technologies.
Following the Government’s decision to cancel funding for a number of technology and AI projects, including the £800 million exascale computer project at the University of Edinburgh, CaMS hopes to work with the AI Opportunities Unit to produce a vision for the future of AI and underpinning mathematical sciences to sustain the UK’s global leadership in this fast-moving field.
This is particularly important given the 2022 Independent Review of the Future of Compute warned that the “lack of a strong domestic compute ecosystem constrains the UK’s potential and threatens its standing as an international leader in science and technology”. The UK has a wealth of talent and CaMS wants to see investment in AI and the mathematical sciences to make best use of this.
