UK Unveils £600M AI Security Funding Plan With New Biosecurity Lab, Model Credits From OpenAI and Anthropic

What happened

Reuters reported from London on October 24 that Britain's government set out a funding package worth around £600 million ($800 million) on Saturday, largely geared towards defending against health and security threats from artificial intelligence.

AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the aim was for the AI Biosecurity Lab to become a major global institution bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats.

Beyond government spending, OpenAI and Anthropic will offer up to £200 million of model credits to the biosecurity initiative, while Google DeepMind and London-based AI life sciences startup Basecamp Research will offer other assistance, according to Reuters.

Key facts

1. Biosecurity takes the largest share: £100 million for a new AI Biosecurity Lab using AI to detect biological threats, plus £65 million for pathogen countermeasures — £165 million in total.
2. Two frontier labs contribute compute: OpenAI and Anthropic will offer up to £200 million in model credits to the biosecurity initiative; Google DeepMind and Basecamp Research will provide other assistance.
3. Extra £120 million for the AI Security Institute: Britain's existing AI Security Institute gets an additional £120 million.
4. £130 million for cyber defences: Two new projects, the National Cyber Shield and the National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre, will improve cyber defences for critical infrastructure and the wider economy.
5. Other items: £60 million for a fund investing in British companies using AI to advance robotics, autonomous systems and manufacturing; £60 million for AI research and procurement contracts; £23 million for research on the economic impact of AI; £18 million for a chip design academy; £15 million for a prize for AI solutions to public policy problems, initially focused on healthcare; £30 million for regional mayors to support local AI work; and an unspecified sum for the National Cyber Security Centre to expand in Manchester.