UK Government Establishes National AI Biosecurity Lab With £100m Budget, OpenAI And Anthropic Credits
Technology and ScienceUpdated 23 minutes ago2 min read
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The UK plans to create a national AI Biosecurity Lab with £100 million in public funding. OpenAI and Anthropic have promised up to £200 million worth of credits for using their AI models and computing resources.
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£100m AI Biosecurity Lab announced
The UK government announced that it would spend £100 million to create a national AI Biosecurity Lab. The government described the new institute as a “world first” in its Budget announcement on Wednesday. AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said the lab would be a “major new global institution” that brings together “world-leading scientific expertise.” He said it would help the UK protect its people and achieve its goals as AI develops. Chancellor John Healey said, “AI will transform daily life: every firm, community, hospital, school, and every aspect of our economy can benefit.” He also promised a “distinctively British approach to AI” that would not leave workers behind.
The plan also sets aside £120 million for the UK's AI Security Institute. This institute tests the risks of the most advanced and powerful AI models. The previous Conservative government established it in 2023. The government also said OpenAI and Anthropic would provide £200 million worth of credits that could be used to access their AI models. Other plans include £60 million for a “National Cyber Shield” and £70 million for a National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability (NERV) Centre.
From PHP flaws to safety measures
The UK government said it was among the organisations that temporarily took some websites offline as a safety measure after serious security flaws were found in PHP. PHP is a popular programming language used on servers and has been used in web development for decades. Researchers who helped find the flaws warned that websites and platforms using PHP could be at risk of hacking. The flaw was named “php2shell.” So far, no successful attacks using this flaw have been reported. However, experts warned that the incident showed how AI could quickly uncover old, hidden software bugs and potentially help attackers exploit them.
The £600 million package aims to protect the public from AI-related threats to health and security. The largest share will go to a new biosecurity project. Jordan Cummins, a director at the CBI, said, “The Chancellor is right to put security, resilience and trust at the heart of the UK's approach to AI.”
Who will receive funding, and how it will be used
According to Sky News, the UK's plan includes £130 million for new projects to strengthen cyber security for important infrastructure and the wider economy. These projects are known as the National Cyber Shield and the National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre. Another £60 million would go to a fund that invests in British companies using AI to develop robotics, machines that can work on their own, and better manufacturing methods. A further £60 million would support AI research and contracts to buy AI-related services. The plan also includes an extra £23 million for research into AI's effects on the economy, £18 million for a new academy to teach chip design, and £15 million for a prize for AI solutions to public policy problems. The prize will initially focus on healthcare.
Regional mayors would receive £30 million to support AI projects in their areas. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre would also receive an unspecified amount of money to expand its work in Manchester. The BBC said leading AI developers would support the creation of the AI Biosecurity Lab. It also noted that the full details of the lab's role and responsibilities have not yet been announced.