The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has urged the UK to enhance its AI infrastructure to maintain a competitive edge in the technological landscape. Rather than vying with the US and China in AI model creation, the focus should shift to widespread AI deployment across key sectors. To achieve this, the institute highlights the necessity to prioritize datacenter construction as a national strategy.

The report stresses the UK’s lack of resources compared to major players like the US, China, and the Gulf States, who invest heavily in datacenters. It calls for significant investments and strategic changes to attract new investments, spread capabilities regionally, and enhance resilience.

The UK government has already acknowledged these needs with initiatives like the AI Opportunities Action Plan. However, the institute warns that current efforts are insufficient, citing delays and high energy costs as hurdles. A separate report notes a forecasted 5 GW shortfall in the UK’s datacenter compute capacity, emphasizing the urgency of addressing these challenges.

As a solution, the institute suggests accelerated diversification and reforming planning processes, including faster decision-making for high-investment projects. It proposes initiatives like colocating AI datacenters with energy sources and using government land to expand infrastructure.

Despite budget constraints, the institute underlines the risk of falling behind if these steps aren’t taken. While concerns about the potential overvaluation of AI investments persist, the call to action is clear: strengthen infrastructure to lead in AI application and innovation across various domains.