AI to be ‘crucial’ for UK to become tech superpower by 2030: Technology secretary

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Artificial intelligence (AI) will be “crucial” for the UK to become a science and technology superpower by 2030, the country’s technology secretary said Tuesday.

“Thanks to some of the brightest, boldest and best of the UK’s world-class tech sector talent, we have done some extraordinary things since last year’s CogX Festival,” Michelle Donelan said at the CogX technology conference in London's O2 Arena.

"In that short period of time, the UK has become one of only three countries on the planet with a tech sector worth over $1 trillion – making us the only country to sit alongside the US and China in reaching this incredible milestone," Donelan said.

"In fact, the value of our digital sector alone is now worth more than the entire UK’s GDP in 1970," she added.

She also emphasized the speed of progress in the AI field, saying: “In the space of a single human lifetime, humanity progressed from the horse and cart to launching a man into space.”

"We are seeing a comparable transformation in the field of AI, occurring in under a decade. Five years ago, the most advanced AI could barely write coherent sentences. Today, they can instantly generate stunning art, and use tools as we ourselves do," Donelan said.

"Even in the last 24 hours, I have announced new multi-million-pound cancer research projects – including one at King’s College London that is using AI to read lung scans and more accurately predict lung cancer’s resistance to treatment," she added.

However, Donelan acknowledged that in order to become the world’s leader in AI innovation, the UK would have to “first take the lead on making it safe and reliable.”

She emphasized that safety would be the defining factor in the global race for AI leadership.