Goldilocks moment for AI in British society
It is being described as a “Goldilocks moment” to encourage US investment in UK AI infrastructure, but Donald Trump’s state visit and the UK-US Tech Prosperity Deal that has been announced, come at a time when friction is being stoked in communities.
The Unite the Kingdom march, attended by over 100,000 people, saw Elon Musk address the crowd via a video link, stating: “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.” People can interpret his statement any way they wish, but in the context of a far right rally under the guise of uniting the UK, there is a worrying subtext that certain people are not welcomed here.
Waltham Cross, in the borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, saw Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves officially open Google’s £5bn datacentre site. Councillor Corina Gander, leader of Broxbourne Council, welcomed Google’s “important contribution to the local economy.” But just a few weeks earlier, she stated: “[Delta Marriott Hotel’s] ongoing use as asylum seeker accommodation adds pressure to local services and risks heightening community tensions.”
Blythe, in Northumberland is one of two new AI growth zones in the North East to boost the local economy and high tech skills to the region.
In August, the ChronicleLive reported that Northumberland police has been under pressure following a summer of weekly asylum hotel demonstrations. Northumberland police crime commissioner, Susan Dungowth told the newspaper, “Whilst the outward protest might decrease, what we’ve learnt from last August is the thoughts and the rhetoric going on around that will carry on.”
Deal or no deal on foreign talent?
Earlier this week, parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Kanishka Narayan, said that his goal for the US/UK tech deal is “to convince the very best founders across the world that Britain is the right place for them to build”.
But having a pipeline that will see Nvidia partnering with Nscale and CoreWeave to invest up to £11bn in UK AI factories with 120,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs along with Microsoft’s £22bn UK datacentre commitment, is never going to sway public opinion.
Creating Europe’s largest AI infrastructure by 2026 is just the start. Narayan wants to grow UK tech talent and perhaps attract foreign startups to set up base here. But there are plenty of potholes in this technology roadmap for Britain.
The government does recognise that financial investment in UK innovation has traditionally been risk adverse.
However, what Whitehall is failing to grasp is the impact of racial tension in UK society, which risks our ability to attract the world’s best tech talent.