Artificial Intelligence: Infrastructure
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to what extent UK sovereign AI capability is reliant on overseas-owned compute infrastructure providers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
The Government is investing in domestic capability through initiatives such as the AI Research Resource (AIRR), which provides a national network of publicly funded AI supercomputing systems to support researchers, businesses and the public sector. This is complemented by wider investment in UK-based infrastructure, skills and innovation.
At the same time, the UK maintains an open approach to working with trusted international providers to ensure access to frontier technologies and sufficient compute capacity. Procurement decisions are based on value for money, security and performance requirements, rather than the nationality of suppliers.
The Government’s approach is therefore to strengthen domestic capability and resilience over time, while continuing to work with a diverse range of providers to meet current and future demand.
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