John Healey pledges to use budget to harness power of AI to bolster Britain’s security

Chancellor John Healey has pledged to use Wednesday’s budget to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster Britain’s security and prosperity against the risks in the accelerating global technology arms race. As he prepares for his debut budget, the chancellor announced that Andy Burnham’s government would commit hundreds of millions of pounds to develop a “distinctively British” approach to AI that would capitalize on the benefits of this frontier technology.

At a critical juncture where AI developments pose both existential threats and transformative economic potential, Healey stated that he would be making the biggest ever investment to guard against cyber risks and the disruptive potential of the technology. As part of the measures in his tax and spending statement, he promised fresh investment for Britain’s AI Security Institute and other critical institutions, alongside allocating public money to support the use of the technology for good.

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“AI will transform daily life: every firm, community, hospital, school and every aspect of our economy can benefit,” Healey said. “I understand and share the concerns of working people, so I am setting out a distinctively British approach to AI – one that doesn’t leave workers behind and defends our national interest, while ensuring the benefits of AI-enabled growth are felt right across the country.”

Three months into Burnham’s premiership, Healey is poised to deliver a budget against an increasingly volatile backdrop as the war in the Middle East sends shockwaves through the global economy, putting pressure on public finances and reigniting the cost of living crisis. The chancellor has vowed to use his first budget to provide households and businesses with “breathing space” as the global surge in energy costs triggered by the war impacts millions of families this winter.