The UK government plans to establish a £100 million AI biosecurity lab to monitor emerging threats. Chancellor John Healey and AI minister Kanishka Narayan announced the lab on Saturday. The announcement forms part of a £600 million package supporting AI development and protection against potential risks ahead of next week's Budget.
AI companies are competing to address the possibility that future models could enable users to develop new viruses or biological weapons. Concerns are growing that AI's scientific capabilities could become the industry's next threat to public security. Narayan said US developers OpenAI and Anthropic would support the lab with AI model credits worth up to £200 million. Narayan said the lab would become a major international institution and help Britain achieve global leadership in AI safety and security.
Narayan, the first cabinet-level AI minister, is trying to develop a vision for UK AI sovereignty that would locate essential technologies and data storage in Britain. Narayan is also seeking a small number of globally leading capabilities, including safety, that would give the UK leverage when negotiating with the US and other parties.
The government announced £120 million in additional funding for the AI Security Institute, which leads globally in testing frontier AI models. The government also allocated £130 million to strengthen national cybersecurity through AI. AI models this week helped identify security weaknesses in technology underlying roughly 70% of the internet. The discovery highlights the potential for hackers to use AI to exploit cybersecurity weaknesses.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and Anthropic have intensified biological risk testing and work on other safeguards in recent months. Matt Clifford, a former Downing Street AI adviser who joined Anthropic in September, welcomed the lab. Clifford said AI was transforming both biological threats and biological discovery. Sasha Baker, OpenAI's head of national security policy, said the lab's researchers would safely deploy advanced AI to identify threats sooner, speed development of life-saving countermeasures and strengthen prevention of and responses to biological crises.
Healey's package also allocated £60 million to the Sovereign AI Fund, which finances domestic AI start-ups. The package included funding for local areas to teach residents how to use AI. Kate Shoesmith, policy director at the British Chambers of Commerce lobby group, said the measures should stimulate domestic AI innovation. However, Shoesmith urged ministers to tackle obstacles to AI adoption so that all firms could benefit from growth.
UK Announces £100M AI Biosecurity Lab to Monitor Emerging Threats
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Summary
CFT measures will benefit from the UK’s new £100 million AI biosecurity lab to monitor emerging threats. The lab is part of a £600 million package supporting AI development and risk mitigation. AI minister Kanishka Narayan said OpenAI and Anthropic will back the lab with up to £200 million in AI model credits. The government also allocated £120 million for the AI Security Institute and £130 million to strengthen national cybersecurity through AI. Liquidity and crypto markets may see indirect impacts from these AI-driven security advancements.
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