UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is set to outline an ambitious strategy to position the UK as the fastest adopter of artificial intelligence among G7 nations, as part of a broader push to stimulate economic growth.
In Reeves upcoming speech on Tuesday, Reeves is expected to reveal the plan to shift towards innovation, with government playing a direct role in accelerating how businesses and public institutions integrate AI.
More than £2 billion in public investment will underpin this strategy, targeting not only AI development but also the infrastructure needed to deploy it effectively. A key element will be expanding access to high-performance computing, particularly through a national quantum computing programme.
These systems are expected to dramatically increase the capacity for complex data processing, enabling faster breakthroughs in areas such as medical diagnostics, energy systems, and secure communications.
A central theme of the speech will be the need for the UK to shape how AI is used, rather than relying on frameworks developed elsewhere.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves commented: “The choice is this: we can bury our heads in the sand and leave [AI] to other countries – whose values may differ from ours – to shape and own this technology.”
To address this, the government plans to work closely with industry leaders, researchers, and investors to speed up adoption across sectors. This includes encouraging businesses to integrate AI into operations, as well as ensuring that public services, across the NHS to local government, are equipped to use AI tools efficiently.
Reeves is also likely to connect AI adoption with regional economic growth. Projects such as the Oxford-Cambridge innovation corridor are expected to serve as hubs for AI research, talent development, and startup activity, helping to spread the benefits of technological advancement beyond London.
Andy Ward, SVP International at Absolute Security commented: “AI tools in cybersecurity offer huge potential to improve detection, speed up response times, and strengthen defences, however, without robust cyber resilience strategies and real-time visibility, organisations risk sleepwalking into deeper vulnerabilities.
As businesses race to adopt AI, it is critical that they recognise that prevention alone is not enough. Cyber resilience is the missing link, ensuring organisations can withstand, respond to, and recover from increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered attacks.
Attackers are already leveraging AI to accelerate and scale threats, which can lead to major consequences for businesses. Our recent research also shows that nearly one in five organisations experienced operational disruption lasting up to two weeks following a cyber-attack, with the majority facing almost five days of downtime. Cyber defences must evolve with equal urgency, or risk being left dangerously exposed."