The announcement of plans for an AI Factory Antenna, connecting UK researchers with the European super-computing network, will be welcomed by those in the UK AI sector. However, the plans may be more than just technical cooperation and resource sharing, they might mark a rebalancing of global AI.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has attracted criticism from supporters on issues like welfare and immigration. But Starmer has been quietly getting on with the job of government, often to great effect. The plans for AI collaboration with Europe may just be part of that quiet work, shifting the UK’s post-Brexit position.
Politically, AI has typically generated far more heat than light. Why might this announcement redefine the UK’s and Europe’s position in the AI race?
The Brexit scientific divorce
It’s impossible to consider any relationship with Europe without considering the impact of Brexit. The UK’s departure from the EU had a devastating impact on UK science, severing connections with EU research programmes, affecting talent mobility, and access to infrastructure.
However, the UK has been rebuilding those bridges, most notably with re-entry into the Horizon programme. The mood music has also changed, with early discussions about re-joining programmes like ERASMUS or a return to freedom of movement for younger people.
While still some way short of the pre-Brexit partnerships, it shows signs that the UK is again being considered a trusted partner by the EU. This type of international cooperation will be vital to the UK’s AI industry.
The geopolitical importance of AI
AI, like much of the tech sector, is cross-border at almost every level. At a regulatory level, many issues will need multinational agreement to ensure appropriate protections in areas like data privacy and copyright. On a practical level, the infrastructure required may be best provided on a shared, international level, both for research and corporate use. And the problems that AI may solve — and some suggest cause — like environmental and climate issues are simply borderless.
Despite the international nature of tech and AI, different approaches have developed.
The EU has taken a regulation-first approach, proceeding with caution, stressing issues like risk, ethics, and accountability for those that are developing AI.
The UK’s innovation-first approach has limited regulation, instead talking up the potential of AI and of the UK as a leader in AI. Combined with the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the aim has been to foster AI innovation in the UK.
These are not, however, mutually exclusive approaches. Both the UK and the EU recognise the global impact AI will have, while the difficulty in creating national AI regimes means that, in practice, the approaches will have to converge. There are also good reasons why now is the ideal time for closer cooperation.
AI Factory Antenna: The opportunity for the UK and Europe?
As a geopolitical issue, it is impossible to ignore the biggest player, the US. Traditionally the US has been the world-leader in tech, and the main players in AI are mostly US-based. However, many of the Trump administration’s actions may be creating opportunities for other parts of the world to catch up.
Attitudes towards immigration into the US is already having an effect on where talent is heading. The current issues around foreign students heading to Harvard and gaining visas for other universities, regardless of the outcome, may well have a further chilling effect on research in the US. Even the seemingly close relationship between Trump and Elon Musk could leave AI companies concerned about whether their products will always be behind Grok in the queue.
The lure of more stable working visas, prestigious academic institutions, and a political climate that tends to be better aligned with educated professionals may see talent opting to stay on, or come to, this side of the Atlantic.
Creating Europe’s supercomputing factory
The announcement is the start of a process to identify the UK’s AI Factory Antenna. However, once selected, it will be the country’s gateway to the continent’s supercomputing network.
This is technically important because of the capacity it will give access to, allowing large-scale modelling and training. Politically and strategically, it positions the UK as an attractive destination for AI research, combining the innovation-first climate with access to European infrastructure.
It marks a major milestone in the government’s ambitions. Chris Williams, a partner in the tech practice at global law firm Clyde & Co said, “It’s another sign that the UK is looking to collaborate with its European neighbours.” He added that the “announcement yet again underscores the government’s clear objective for the UK to be at the centre of global technological innovation, and this will be very encouraging for the UK tech sector.”
Soft power or AI Factory Antenna superpower?
The scale needed to develop AI limits what a single nation can do alone. Without international cooperation, it is likely the sector would be dominated by the USA with challenge from China.
But this announcement might change that with its combination of attractive features: the UK’s embrace of AI innovation and the EU’s thoughtful regulation, the shared resources of both partners, and a strong academic culture protected by stable systems in liberal democracies.
The AI Factory Antenna announcement underlines the UK government’s commitment to supporting the AI industry. Politically, it can be considered a further sign of the government’s more conciliatory approach to the EU, and it’s desire for more cooperation.
In time, though, it might be seen as a critical step in Europe’s emergence as an AI superpower, and position it to be the leader in safe, regulated, and transformative AI.
