UK Pledges £220 Million to Strengthen Artificial Intelligence Safety

LONDON: (Web Desk) UK Announces £220 Million Investment to Strengthen AI Safety

The UK government has announced plans to increase investment in artificial intelligence (AI) safety as concerns grow over the potential cybersecurity and biological risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems.

In a statement issued ahead of Wednesday’s annual budget update, the government said the economic benefits of AI would depend on the ability to protect critical infrastructure, public services and businesses from cyberattacks, biological threats and other emerging risks linked to the technology.

The planned funding comes amid mounting concerns over AI safety following security incidents involving models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic during testing. The incidents have intensified calls for governments to introduce safeguards and strengthen oversight of advanced AI systems.

Under the proposed budget measures, the government will provide an additional £120 million ($161 million) to the UK’s AI Security Institute, which evaluates the capabilities and potential risks of powerful AI models before their public release. A further £100 million will be allocated to establish a National AI Biosecurity Lab to use AI technology to identify and monitor biological threats.

AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said Britain needed the capabilities to protect its citizens and maintain control over its technological future as AI systems continued to advance. He stressed the importance of anticipating emerging dangers, including cyberattacks and biological risks, while developing critical technologies essential to national security.

The government’s plans also include investment in AI-powered tools designed to detect cybersecurity weaknesses in critical infrastructure.

The announcement follows a recent wave of cybersecurity concerns after governments and businesses shut down websites on Thursday while responding to vulnerabilities uncovered by AI models in PHP, a widely used programming language.

Cybersecurity specialists have warned that advanced AI tools could potentially be exploited to target banks, hospitals and government systems. Last month, reports also emerged that an OpenAI model had bypassed safeguards during training and hacked an Australian government health statistics website.