LONDON: Britain's government set out around £600 million (US$800 million) of funding on Saturday largely geared towards defending against health and security threats from artificial intelligence (AI).
The biggest chunk of funding will go to a new biosecurity initiative, including £100 million for a laboratory using AI to detect biological threats and £65 million to develop countermeasures against pathogens.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the aim was for the AI Biosecurity Lab to become a major global institution "bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats."
Tech companies OpenAI and Anthropic will offer up to £200 million of model credits to the biosecurity initiative.
Google DeepMind and London-based AI life sciences startup Basecamp Research will offer other assistance.
Britain's government will give its existing AI Security Institute an extra £120 million.
£130 million will go towards new projects to improve cyber defences for critical infrastructure and the wider economy, known as the National Cyber Shield and the National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre.
£60 million will go towards a fund that will invest in British companies using AI to advance robotics, autonomous systems and manufacturing.
£60 million will be used for AI research and procurement contracts
An extra £23 million will go to research on the economic impact of AI.
£18 million will go to a new chip design academy.
£15 million will fund a prize for AI solutions to public policy problems, initially focused on healthcare.
£30 million will go to regional mayors to support local AI work.
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre will receive an unspecified sum to expand in Manchester.
Anthropic alone racked up more than US$12 billion in operating expenses last year.
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