Sunak touts AI revolution in education, seeks UK as global hub

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed enthusiasm for the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise education by offering personalised learning for students. He believes AI could assist teachers in lesson planning and marking, reducing their workload, and comparing the impact of AI to having a personal tutor for each student.

As schools and universities face the challenge of adapting to rapidly advancing AI technologies, concerns have been raised over the pace at which large language systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are developing. Headteachers have warned that guidance on how classrooms should adjust is lagging behind these advancements.

These AI models are trained on vast amounts of data, enabling them to understand and respond to prompts. They have generated convincing essays and speeches, leading some schools and universities in other countries to ban their use.

Speaking at London Tech Week, Sunak highlighted the potential for AI to bring about significant public service reform. He also discussed the technology’s potential to revolutionise healthcare through new drug discovery, assisting doctors in performing surgeries more accurately and quickly, and detecting cancers earlier.

Sunak envisions AI playing a role in every job, serving as a “co-pilot” across the economy. The prime minister is keen for the UK to become a global hub for AI development and regulation. In recent weeks, he has met with leaders of tech giants, including OpenAI and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to discuss the rapid adoption of AI across various sectors.

The UK government has announced plans to host a global summit in the autumn to discuss regulatory “guardrails” to mitigate future risks associated with AI technology. This summit has been compared to the COP climate summits.

In anticipation of London Tech Week, Sky News reported that Sunak is preparing to appoint a tech entrepreneur to lead a £100m taskforce known as the Foundation Models Taskforce (FMT). The FMT is being established to accelerate the UK’s adoption of safe AI models.