Other countries are emerging in the increasingly competitive artificial intelligence arena.
Last month, the UK government £900m ($1.1bn) of new investment with AI. This hefty investment will be used to build a first-rate “exascale” computer that rivals the fastest in the world to advance his AI capabilities for the public good.
The funding will also establish a national research resource that will open up cutting-edge AI R&D to academia and other institutions in the UK, rather than leaving that funding solely in the hands of private companies as is the current situation in the US. increase.
This is a bold move by British government officials and absolutely correct.
Their announcement comes just two years after staff from then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office reached out to us. Stanford University To learn more about the value of the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), visit We have been strongly advocating domestically.
The speed of action by the financially conservative Conservative-led government in deploying these AI investments shows that British officials understand it. But the US government remains mostly on the sidelines.
Beyond investment, the US is also lagging behind in implementing pro-innovation regulations to foster responsible growth in AI. Here, too, the British have the upper hand.
On March 29th, the UK government followed up with the first AI splash: AI regulation proposal This creates a regulatory “sandbox”, among other forward-thinking ideas. This sandbox gives compliance leeway to innovative technology-based services and products outside the scope of existing regulations and allows the dynamic creation of appropriate rules. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start to address the huge potential and risks that AI presents from a regulatory perspective. Investment and regulation should complement each other. The former requires the latter to streamline development while increasing public confidence.
Recognizing the enormity of the promise to democratize access to high-end computing resources and the willingness to apply some initial regulations, lawmakers in Washington should follow Britain’s example.
Washington has taken some early steps, including promoting the use of AI. Increased funding Supporting U.S. Manufacturing with AI R&D chip method, Coordinating AI policy through the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative, the White House AI Bill of Rights.
However, the necessary funds have not yet materialized. The starting point is final presentation Published this January National AI Research Resource The (NAIRR) Task Force is a federal advisory board established by the National AI Initiative Act of 2020, made up of members from government, academia, and private organizations.
The NAIRR Task Force recommended that Congress allocate $2.6 billion over six years. We fully support this recommended budget allocation, but let’s put it in perspective. As a percentage of UK GDP, UK AI investment is actually more than triple the equivalent of $2.6 billion as a percentage of US GDP.
Meanwhile, Big Tech investments in AI make these numbers look like pennies. For example, Microsoft has announced a $10 billion investment over the next few years in OpenAI, the AI lab behind ChatGPT. The fastest growing app of all time.
There is no doubt that private industry will play an important role in AI. But there is a fundamental difference between private and public aspirations.
Simply put, the Big Tech Product Lab is a short-term undertaking whose goal is to make a profit and satisfy its shareholders. By contrast, national and academic research institutions work with a long-term view where big thinking and perseverance are ultimately rewarded. No wonder the laboratory has proven to be an unparalleled engine of innovation.
Government-supported, academic-led research into basic science produced major breakthroughs that were then commercialized as some of the most profound innovations of our time. Examples include the Internet, the Global Positioning System, and CRISPR, the gene-editing breakthrough that is taking biotechnology by storm.
There is a historical precedent for lawmakers in Washington to consider in the form of the Human Genome Project. The prospect of mapping every gene in our body led Congress in the late 1980s under the Republican administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. The agency allocated funds to accelerate genetic mapping and sequencing technology. , UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Celera President Dr Craig Venter have jointly announced that the first sequence has been completed. .
It was a public-private victory in collective respect for both privacy and open access. Instead, imagine if only commercial industries were left to decipher the blueprints of human life, much like Big Tech in the US today with artificial intelligence. Would a big pharmaceutical company have trademarked this information and pursued it primarily for profit-driven short-term gain?
I recommend creating and fully funding the National AI Research Resource to democratize AI research and get academia back into the game so that the United States can begin on the path to responsible AI development. increase.
Developing the next generation of AI-based applications requires democratizing access to its essential tools and capabilities at the public level, such as universities and non-profit research organizations. Students need to know and understand AI today if the promise of AI is to be realized tomorrow.
The UK is now rapidly overtaking the US in both AI investment and regulation. It’s time for our nation to step off the sidelines and join the right kind of competition. Provide AI infrastructure and at least provide regulation that encourages innovation.
Russell Wald is Managing Director of Policy and Society and Daniel Zhang is Senior Manager of Policy Initiatives, both at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI).
The mission of Stanford HAI is to advance AI research, education, policy, and practice to improve the human condition. learn more.
