So, what’s the big deal about E-Beam lithography? Imagine trying to draw incredibly complex patterns, but thousands of times smaller than a human hair. That’s essentially what this technology does, using a focused beam of tiny electrons.

Such precision is vital for designing the microscopic components inside the chips that run everything from our smartphones and gaming consoles to life-saving medical scanners and advanced defence systems.

Semiconductors are already big business for the UK, adding around £10 billion to its economy each year. And that figure is only expected to climb, potentially hitting £17 billion by the end of the decade.

Nurturing this sector is a major opportunity for the UK—not just for bragging rights in advanced manufacturing, but for creating high-value jobs and driving real economic growth.

Speaking at the launch of the facility in Southampton, Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance said: “Britain is home to some of the most exciting semiconductor research anywhere in the world—and Southampton’s new E-Beam facility is a major boost to our national capabilities.

“By investing in both infrastructure and talent, we’re giving our researchers and innovators the support they need to develop next-generation chips right here in the UK.”

Lord Vallance’s visit wasn’t just a photo opportunity, though. It came alongside some sobering news: fresh research published today highlights that one of the biggest hurdles facing the UK’s growing chip industry is finding enough people with the right skills.

We’re talking about a serious talent crunch. When you consider that a single person working in semiconductors contributes an average of £460,000 to the economy each year, you can see why plugging this skills gap is so critical.

So, what’s the plan? The government isn’t just acknowledging the problem; they’re putting money where their mouth is with a £4.75 million semiconductor skills package. The idea is to build up that talent pipeline, making sure universities like Southampton – already powerhouses of chip innovation – have resources like the E-Beam lab and the students they need.

“Our £4.75 million skills package will support our Plan for Change by helping more young people into high-value semiconductors careers, closing skills gaps and backing growth in this critical sector,” Lord Vallance explained.

Here’s where that cash is going:

• Getting students hooked (£3 million): Fancy £5,000 towards your degree? 300 students starting Electronics and Electrical Engineering courses this year will get just that, along with specific learning modules to show them what a career in semiconductors actually involves, particularly in chip design and making the things.
• Practical chip skills (£1.2 million): It’s one thing learning the theory, another designing a real chip. This pot will fund new hands-on chip design courses for students (undergrad and postgrad) and even train up lecturers. They’re also looking into creating conversion courses to tempt talented people from other fields into the chip world.
• Inspiring the next generation (Nearly £550,000): To really build a long-term pipeline, you need to capture interest early. This funding aims to give 7,000 teenagers (15-18) and 450 teachers some real, hands-on experience with semiconductors, working with local companies in existing UK chip hotspots like Newport, Cambridge, and Glasgow. The goal is to show young people the cool career paths available right on their doorstep.

Ultimately, the hope is that this targeted support will give the UK semiconductor scene the skilled workforce it needs to thrive. It’s about encouraging more students to jump into these valuable careers, helping companies find the people they desperately need, and making sure the UK stays at the forefront of the technologies that will shape tomorrow’s economy.

Professor Graham Reed, who heads up the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at Southampton University, commented: “The introduction of the new E-Beam facility will reinforce our position of hosting the most advanced cleanroom in UK academia.

“It facilitates a vast array of innovative and industrially relevant research, and much needed semiconductor skills training.”

Putting world-class tools in the hands of researchers while simultaneously investing in the people who will use them will help to cement the UK’s leadership in semiconductors.

See also: AI in education: Balancing promises and pitfalls

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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Senior figures from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and its tech division, BCG X, discussed the intricate dynamics of the global AI race, the dominance of superpowers like the US and China, the role of emerging “middle powers,” and the implications for multinational corporations.

AI investments expose businesses to increasingly tense geopolitics

Sylvain Duranton, Global Leader at BCG X, noted the significant geopolitical risk companies face: “For large companies, close to half of them, 44%, have teams around the world, not just in one country where their headquarters are.”

Many of these businesses operate across numerous countries, making them vulnerable to differing regulations and sovereignty issues. “They’ve built their AI teams and ecosystem far before there was such tension around the world.”

Duranton also pointed to the stark imbalance in the AI supply race, particularly in investment.

Comparing the market capitalisation of tech companies, the US dwarfs Europe by a factor of 20 and the Asia Pacific region by five. Investment figures paint a similar picture, showing a “completely disproportionate” imbalance compared to the relative sizes of the economies.

This AI race is fuelled by massive investments in compute power, frontier models, and the emergence of lighter, open-weight models changing the competitive dynamic.   

Benchmarking national AI capabilities

Nikolaus Lang, Global Leader at the BCG Henderson Institute – BCG’s think tank – detailed the extensive research undertaken to benchmark national GenAI capabilities objectively.

The team analysed the “upstream of GenAI,” focusing on large language model (LLM) development and its six key enablers: capital, computing power, intellectual property, talent, data, and energy.

Using hard data like AI researcher numbers, patents, data centre capacity, and VC investment, they created a comparative analysis. Unsurprisingly, the analysis revealed the US and China as the clear AI frontrunners and maintain leads in geopolitics.

The US boasts the largest pool of AI specialists (around half a million), immense capital power ($303bn in VC funding, $212bn in tech R&D), and leading compute power (45 GW).

Lang highlighted America’s historical dominance, noting, “the US has been the largest producer of notable AI models with 67%” since 1950, a lead reflected in today’s LLM landscape. This strength is reinforced by “outsized capital power” and strategic restrictions on advanced AI chip access through frameworks like the US AI Diffusion Framework.   

China, the second AI superpower, shows particular strength in data—ranking highly in e-governance and mobile broadband subscriptions, alongside significant data centre capacity (20 GW) and capital power. 

Despite restricted access to the latest chips, Chinese LLMs are rapidly closing the gap with US models. Lang mentioned the emergence of models like DeepSpeech as evidence of this trend, achieved with smaller teams, fewer GPU hours, and previous-generation chips.

China’s progress is also fuelled by heavy investment in AI academic institutions (hosting 45 of the world’s top 100), a leading position in AI patent applications, and significant government-backed VC funding. Lang predicts “governments will play an important role in funding AI work going forward.”

The middle powers: Europe, Middle East, and Asia

Beyond the superpowers, several “middle powers” are carving out niches.

• EU: While trailing the US and China, the EU holds the third spot with significant data centre capacity (8 GW) and the world’s second-largest AI talent pool (275,000 specialists) when capabilities are combined. Europe also leads in top AI publications. Lang stressed the need for bundled capacities, suggesting AI, defence, and renewables are key areas for future EU momentum.
• Middle East (UAE & Saudi Arabia): These nations leverage strong capital power via sovereign wealth funds and competitively low electricity prices to attract talent and build compute power, aiming to become AI drivers “from scratch”. They show positive dynamics in attracting AI specialists and are climbing the ranks in AI publications.   
• Asia (Japan & South Korea): Leveraging strong existing tech ecosystems in hardware and gaming, these countries invest heavily in R&D (around $207bn combined by top tech firms). Government support, particularly in Japan, fosters both supply and demand. Local LLMs and strategic investments by companies like Samsung and SoftBank demonstrate significant activity.   
• Singapore: Singapore is boosting its AI ecosystem by focusing on talent upskilling programmes, supporting Southeast Asia’s first LLM, ensuring data centre capacity, and fostering adoption through initiatives like establishing AI centres of excellence.   

The geopolitics of generative AI: Strategy and sovereignty

The geopolitics of generative AI is being shaped by four clear dynamics: the US retains its lead, driven by an unrivalled tech ecosystem; China is rapidly closing the gap; middle powers face a strategic choice between building supply or accelerating adoption; and government funding is set to play a pivotal role, particularly as R&D costs climb and commoditisation sets in.

As geopolitical tensions mount, businesses are likely to diversify their GenAI supply chains to spread risk. The race ahead will be defined by how nations and companies navigate the intersection of innovation, policy, and resilience.

(Photo by Markus Krisetya)

See also: OpenAI counter-sues Elon Musk for attempts to ‘take down’ AI rival

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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The inaugural meeting of the council will see members agree on its core objectives, with a central focus on how the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower can support its commitment to advancing AI and compute infrastructure.

Unveiled earlier this year as part of the government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the council will serve as a crucial platform for bringing together expert insights on the significant energy demands associated with the AI sector.

Concerns surrounding the substantial energy requirements of AI data centres are a global challenge. The UK is proactively addressing this issue through initiatives like the establishment of new AI Growth Zones.

These zones are dedicated hubs for AI development that are strategically located in areas with access to at least 500MW of power—an amount equivalent to powering approximately two million homes. This approach is designed to attract private investment from companies looking to establish operations in Britain, ultimately generating local jobs and boosting the economy.

Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, said: “The work of the AI Energy Council will ensure we aren’t just powering our AI needs to deliver new waves of opportunity in all parts of the country, but can do so in a way which is responsible and sustainable.

“This requires a broad range of expertise from industry and regulators as we fire up the UK’s economic engine to make it fit for the age of AI—meaning we can deliver the growth which is the beating heart of our Plan for Change.”

The Council is also expected to delve into the role of clean energy sources, including renewables and nuclear, in powering the AI revolution.

A key aspect of its work will involve advising on how to improve energy efficiency and sustainability within AI and data centre infrastructure, with specific considerations for resource usage such as water. Furthermore, the council will take proactive steps to ensure the secure adoption of AI across the UK’s critical energy network itself.

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, commented: “We are making the UK a clean energy superpower, building the homegrown energy this country needs to protect consumers and businesses, and drive economic growth, as part of our Plan for Change.

“AI can play an important role in building a new era of clean electricity for our country and as we unlock AI’s potential, this Council will help secure a sustainable scale up to benefit businesses and communities across the UK.”

In a parallel effort to facilitate the growth of the AI sector, the UK government has been working closely with energy regulator Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to implement fundamental reforms to the UK’s connections process.

Subject to final sign-offs from Ofgem, these reforms could potentially unlock more than 400GW of capacity from the connection queue. This acceleration of projects is deemed vital for economic growth, particularly for the delivery of new large-scale AI data centres that require significant power infrastructure.

The newly-formed AI Energy Council comprises representatives from 14 key organisations across the energy and technology sectors, including regulators and leading companies. These members will contribute their expert insights to support the council’s work and ensure a collaborative approach to addressing the energy challenges and opportunities presented by AI.

Among the prominent organisations joining the council are EDF, Scottish Power, National Grid, technology giants Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and chip designer ARM, as well as infrastructure investment firm Brookfield.

This collaborative framework, uniting the energy and technology sectors, aims to ensure seamless coordination in speeding up the connection of energy projects to the national grid. This is particularly crucial given the increasing number of technology companies announcing plans to build data centres across the UK.

Alison Kay, VP for UK and Ireland at AWS, said: “At Amazon, we’re working to meet the future energy needs of our customers, while remaining committed to powering our operations in a more sustainable way, and progressing toward our Climate Pledge commitment to become net-zero carbon by 2040.

“As the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for the fifth year in a row, we share the government’s goal to ensure the UK has sufficient access to carbon-free energy to support its AI ambitions and to help drive economic growth.”

Jonathan Brearley, CEO of Ofgem, added: “AI will play an increasingly important role in transforming our energy system to be cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective for consumers, but only if used in a fair, secure, sustainable, and safe way.

“Working alongside other members of this Council, Ofgem will ensure AI implementation puts consumer interests first – from customer service to infrastructure planning and operation – so that everyone feels the benefits of this technological innovation in energy.”

This initiative aligns with the government’s Clean Power Action Plan, which focuses on connecting more homegrown clean power to the grid by building essential infrastructure and prioritising projects needed for 2030. The aim is to clear the grid connection queue, enabling crucial infrastructure projects – from housing to gigafactories and data centres – to gain access to the grid, thereby unlocking billions in investment and fostering economic growth.

Furthermore, the government is streamlining planning approvals to significantly reduce the time it takes for infrastructure projects to get off the ground. This accelerated process will ensure that AI innovators can readily access cutting-edge infrastructure and the necessary power to drive forward the next wave of AI advancements.

(Photo by Vlad Hilitanu)

See also: Tony Blair Institute AI copyright report sparks backlash

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.
Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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According to the report, titled ‘Rebooting Copyright: How the UK Can Be a Global Leader in the Arts and AI,’ the global race for cultural and technological leadership is still up for grabs, and the UK has a golden opportunity to take the lead.

The report emphasises that countries that “embrace change and harness the power of artificial intelligence in creative ways will set the technical, aesthetic, and regulatory standards for others to follow.”

Highlighting that we are in the midst of another revolution in media and communication, the report notes that AI is disrupting how textual, visual, and auditive content is created, distributed, and experienced, much like the printing press, gramophone, and camera did before it.

“AI will usher in a new era of interactive and bespoke works, as well as a counter-revolution that celebrates everything that AI can never be,” the report states.

However, far from signalling the end of human creativity, the TBI suggests AI will open up “new ways of being original.”

The AI revolution’s impact isn’t limited to the creative industries; it’s being felt across all areas of society. Scientists are using AI to accelerate discoveries, healthcare providers are employing it to analyse X-ray images, and emergency services utilise it to locate houses damaged by earthquakes.

The report stresses that these cross-industry advancements are just the beginning, with future AI systems set to become increasingly capable, fuelled by advancements in computing power, data, model architectures, and access to talent.

The UK government has expressed its ambition to be a global leader in AI through its AI Opportunities Action Plan, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 13 January 2025. For its part, the TBI welcomes the UK government’s ambition, stating that “if properly designed and deployed, AI can make human lives healthier, safer, and more prosperous.”

However, the rapid spread of AI across sectors raises urgent policy questions, particularly concerning the data used for AI training. The application of UK copyright law to the training of AI models is currently contested, with the debate often framed as a “zero-sum game” between AI developers and rights holders. The TBI argues that this framing “misrepresents the nature of the challenge and the opportunity before us.”

The report emphasises that “bold policy solutions are needed to provide all parties with legal clarity and unlock investments that spur innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”

According to the TBI, AI presents opportunities for creators—noting its use in various fields from podcasts to filmmaking. The report draws parallels with past technological innovations – such as the printing press and the internet – which were initially met with resistance, but ultimately led to societal adaptation and human ingenuity prevailing.

The TBI proposes that the solution lies not in clinging to outdated copyright laws but in allowing them to “co-evolve with technological change” to remain effective in the age of AI.

The UK government has proposed a text and data mining exception with an opt-out option for rights holders. While the TBI views this as a good starting point for balancing stakeholder interests, it acknowledges the “significant implementation and enforcement challenges” that come with it, spanning legal, technical, and geopolitical dimensions.

In the report, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change “assesses the merits of the UK government’s proposal and outlines a holistic policy framework to make it work in practice.”

The report includes recommendations and examines novel forms of art that will emerge from AI. It also delves into the disagreement between rights holders and developers on copyright, the wider implications of copyright policy, and the serious hurdles the UK’s text and data mining proposal faces.

Furthermore, the Tony Blair Institute explores the challenges of governing an opt-out policy, implementation problems with opt-outs, making opt-outs useful and accessible, and tackling the diffusion problem. AI summaries and the problems they present regarding identity are also addressed, along with defensive tools as a partial solution and solving licensing problems.

The report also seeks to clarify the standards on human creativity, address digital watermarking, and discuss the uncertainty around the impact of generative AI on the industry. It proposes establishing a Centre for AI and the Creative Industries and discusses the risk of judicial review, the benefits of a remuneration scheme, and the advantages of a targeted levy on ISPs to raise funding for the Centre.

However, the report has faced strong criticism. Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of Fairly Trained, raised several concerns on Bluesky. These concerns include:

• The report repeats the “misleading claim” that existing UK copyright law is uncertain, which Newton-Rex asserts is not the case.
• The suggestion that an opt-out scheme would give rights holders more control over how their works are used is misleading. Newton-Rex argues that licensing is currently required by law, so moving to an opt-out system would actually decrease control, as some rights holders will inevitably miss the opt-out.
• The report likens machine learning (ML) training to human learning, a comparison that Newton-Rex finds shocking, given the vastly different scalability of the two.
• The report’s claim that AI developers won’t make long-term profits from training on people’s work is questioned, with Newton-Rex pointing to the significant funding raised by companies like OpenAI.
• Newton-Rex suggests the report uses strawman arguments, such as stating that generative AI may not replace all human paid activities.
• A key criticism is that the report omits data showing how generative AI replaces demand for human creative labour.
• Newton-Rex also criticises the report’s proposed solutions, specifically the suggestion to set up an academic centre, which he notes “no one has asked for.”
• Furthermore, he highlights the proposal to tax every household in the UK to fund this academic centre, arguing that this would place the financial burden on consumers rather than the AI companies themselves, and the revenue wouldn’t even go to creators.

Adding to these criticisms, British novelist and author Jonathan Coe noted that “the five co-authors of this report on copyright, AI, and the arts are all from the science and technology sectors. Not one artist or creator among them.”

While the report from Tony Blair Institute for Global Change supports the government’s ambition to be an AI leader, it also raises critical policy questions—particularly around copyright law and AI training data.

(Photo by Jez Timms)

See also: Amazon Nova Act: A step towards smarter, web-native AI agents

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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In a statement to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Hugging Face emphasised that “thoughtful policy can support innovation while ensuring that AI development remains competitive, and aligned with American values.”

Hugging Face, which hosts over 1.5 million public models across various sectors and serves seven million users, proposes an AI Action Plan centred on three interconnected pillars:

1. Hugging Face stresses the importance of strengthening open-source AI ecosystems.  The company argues that technical innovation stems from diverse actors across institutions and that support for infrastructure – such as the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), and investment in open science and data – allows these contributions to have an additive effect and accelerate robust innovation.

2. The company prioritises efficient and reliable adoption of AI. Hugging Face believes that spreading the benefits of the technology by facilitating its adoption along the value chain requires actors across sectors of activity to shape its development. It states that more efficient, modular, and robust AI models require research and infrastructural investments to enable the broadest possible participation and innovation—enabling diffusion of technology across the US economy.

3. Hugging Face also highlights the need to promote security and standards. The company suggests that decades of practices in open-source software cybersecurity, information security, and standards can inform safer AI technology. It advocates for promoting traceability, disclosure, and interoperability standards to foster a more resilient and robust technology ecosystem.

Open-source is key for AI advancement in the US (and beyond)

Hugging Face underlines that modern AI is built on decades of open research, with commercial giants relying heavily on open-source contributions. Recent breakthroughs – such as OLMO-2 and Olympic-Coder – demonstrate that open research remains a promising path to developing systems that match the performance of commercial models, and can often surpass them, especially in terms of efficiency and performance in specific domains.

“Perhaps most striking is the rapid compression of development timelines,” notes the company, “what once required over 100B parameter models just two years ago can now be accomplished with 2B parameter models, suggesting an accelerating path to parity.”

This trend towards more accessible, efficient, and collaborative AI development indicates that open approaches to AI development have a critical role to play in enabling a successful AI strategy that maintains technical leadership and supports more widespread and secure adoption of the technology.

Hugging Face argues that open models, infrastructure, and scientific practices constitute the foundation of AI innovation, allowing a diverse ecosystem of researchers, companies, and developers to build upon shared knowledge.

The company’s platform hosts AI models and datasets from both small actors (e.g., startups, universities) and large organisations (e.g., Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Meta), demonstrating how open approaches accelerate progress and democratise access to AI capabilities.

“The United States must lead in open-source AI and open science, which can enhance American competitiveness by fostering a robust ecosystem of innovation and ensuring a healthy balance of competition and shared innovation,” states Hugging Face.

Research has shown that open technical systems act as force multipliers for economic impact, with an estimated 2000x multiplier effect. This means that $4 billion invested in open systems could potentially generate $8 trillion in value for companies using them.

These economic benefits extend to national economies as well. Without any open-source software contributions, the average country would lose 2.2% of its GDP. Open-source drove between €65 billion and €95 billion of European GDP in 2018 alone, a finding so significant that the European Commission cited it when establishing new rules to streamline the process for open-sourcing government software.

This demonstrates how open-source impact translates directly into policy action and economic advantage at the national level, underlining the importance of open-source as a public good.

Practical factors driving commercial adoption of open-source AI

Hugging Face identifies several practical factors driving the commercial adoption of open models:

• Cost efficiency is a major driver, as developing AI models from scratch requires significant investment, so leveraging open foundations reduces R&D expenses.
• Customisation is crucial, as organisations can adapt and deploy models specifically tailored to their use cases rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.
• Open models reduce vendor lock-in, giving companies greater control over their technology stack and independence from single providers.
• Open models have caught up to and, in certain cases, surpassed the capabilities of closed, proprietary systems.

These factors are particularly valuable for startups and mid-sized companies, which can access cutting-edge technology without massive infrastructure investments. Banks, pharmaceutical companies, and other industries have been adapting open models to specific market needs—demonstrating how open-source foundations support a vibrant commercial ecosystem across the value chain.

Hugging Face’s policy recommendations to support open-source AI in the US

To support the development and adoption of open AI systems, Hugging Face offers several policy recommendations:

• Enhance research infrastructure: Fully implement and expand the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot. Hugging Face’s active participation in the NAIRR pilot has demonstrated the value of providing researchers with access to computing resources, datasets, and collaborative tools.

• Allocate public computing resources for open-source: The public should have ways to participate via public AI infrastructure. One way to do this would be to dedicate a portion of publicly-funded computing infrastructure to support open-source AI projects, reducing barriers to innovation for smaller research teams and companies that cannot afford proprietary systems.

• Enable access to data for developing open systems: Create sustainable data ecosystems through targeted policies that address the decreasing data commons. Publishers are increasingly signing data licensing deals with proprietary AI model developers, meaning that quality data acquisition costs are now approaching or even surpassing computational expenses of training frontier models, threatening to lock out small open developers from access to quality data.  Support organisations that contribute to public data repositories and streamline compliance pathways that reduce legal barriers to responsible data sharing.

• Develop open datasets: Invest in the creation, curation, and maintenance of robust, representative datasets that can support the next generation of AI research and applications. Expand initiatives like the IBM AI Alliance Trusted Data Catalog and support projects like IDI’s AI-driven Digitization of the public collections in the Boston Public Library.

• Strengthen rights-respecting data access frameworks: Establish clear guidelines for data usage, including standardised protocols for anonymisation, consent management, and usage tracking.  Support public-private partnerships to create specialised data trusts for high-value domains like healthcare and climate science, ensuring that individuals and organisations maintain appropriate control over their data while enabling innovation.    

• Invest in stakeholder-driven innovation: Create and support programmes that enable organisations across diverse sectors (healthcare, manufacturing, education) to develop customised AI systems for their specific needs, rather than relying exclusively on general-purpose systems from major providers. This enables broader participation in the AI ecosystem and ensures that the benefits of AI extend throughout the economy.

• Strengthen centres of excellence: Expand NIST’s role as a convener for AI experts across academia, industry, and government to share lessons and develop best practices.  In particular, the AI Risk Management Framework has played a significant role in identifying stages of AI development and research questions that are critical to ensuring more robust and secure technology deployment for all. The tools developed at Hugging Face, from model documentation to evaluation libraries, are directly shaped by these questions.

• Support high-quality data for performance and reliability evaluation: AI development depends heavily on data, both to train models and to reliably evaluate their progress, strengths, risks, and limitations. Fostering greater access to public data in a safe and secure way and ensuring that the evaluation data used to characterise models is sound and evidence-based will accelerate progress in both performance and reliability of the technology.

Prioritising efficient and reliable AI adoption

Hugging Face highlights that smaller companies and startups face significant barriers to AI adoption due to high costs and limited resources. According to IDC, global AI spending will reach $632 billion in 2028, but these costs remain prohibitive for many small organisations.

For organisations adopting open-source AI tools, it brings financial returns. 51% of surveyed companies currently utilising open-source AI tools report positive ROI, compared to just 41% of those not using open-source.

However, energy scarcity presents a growing concern, with the International Energy Agency projecting that data centres’ electricity consumption could double from 2022 levels to 1,000 TWh by 2026, equivalent to Japan’s entire electricity demand. While training AI models is energy-intensive, inference, due to its scale and frequency, can ultimately exceed training energy consumption.

Ensuring broad AI accessibility requires both hardware optimisations and scalable software frameworks.  A range of organisations are developing models tailored to their specific needs, and US leadership in efficiency-focused AI development presents a strategic advantage. The DOE’s AI for Energy initiative further supports research into energy-efficient AI, facilitating wider adoption without excessive computational demands.

With its letter to the OSTP, Hugging Face advocates for an AI Action Plan centred on open-source principles. By taking decisive action, the US can secure its leadership, drive innovation, enhance security, and ensure the widespread benefits of AI are realised across society and the economy.

See also: UK minister in US to pitch Britain as global AI investment hub

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

The post Hugging Face calls for open-source focus in the AI Action Plan appeared first on AI News.

As the UK government prioritises AI within its “Plan for Change,” Kyle’s visit aims to strengthen the special relationship between the UK and the US that has been under particular strain in recent years.

Speaking at NVIDIA’s annual conference in San Jose on 20th March, Kyle outlined the government’s strategy to “rewire” the British economy around AI. This initiative seeks to distribute the benefits of AI-driven wealth creation beyond traditional hubs like Silicon Valley and London, empowering communities across the UK to embrace its opportunities.

Addressing an audience of business leaders, developers, and innovators, the Technology Secretary articulated his vision for leveraging AI and advanced technologies to tackle complex global challenges, positioning Britain as a beacon of innovation.

The UK is actively deploying AI to enhance public services and stimulate economic growth, a cornerstone of the government’s “Plan for Change.”

Kyle is now highlighting the significant potential of the UK’s AI sector, currently valued at over $92 billion and projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2035. This growth trajectory, according to the government, will position Britain as the second-leading AI nation in the democratic world—presenting a wealth of investment opportunities for US companies and financial institutions.

A central theme of Kyle’s message is the readiness of the UK to embrace AI investment, with a particular emphasis on transforming “the relics of economic eras past into the UK’s innovative AI Growth Zones.”

These “AI Growth Zones” are a key element of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. They are strategically designated areas designed to rapidly attract large-scale AI investment through streamlined regulations and dedicated infrastructure.

AI Growth Zones, as the name suggests, are envisioned as vibrant hubs for AI development with a pipeline of new opportunities for companies to scale up and innovate. The Technology Secretary is actively encouraging investors to participate in this new form of partnership.

During his speech at the NVIDIA conference, Kyle is expected to detail how these Growth Zones – benefiting from access to substantial power connections and a planning system designed to expedite construction – will facilitate the development of a compute infrastructure on a scale that the UK “has never seen before.”

The government has already received numerous proposals from local leaders and industry stakeholders across the nation, demonstrating Britain’s eagerness to utilise AI to revitalise communities and drive economic growth throughout the country.

This initiative is expected to contribute to higher living standards across the UK, a key priority for the government over the next four years. The AI Growth Zones are intended to deliver the jobs, investment, and a thriving business environment necessary to improve the financial well-being of citizens and deliver on the “Plan for Change.”

At the NVIDIA conference, Kyle is expected to say: “In empty factories and abandoned mines, in derelict sites and unused power supplies, I see the places where we can begin to build a new economic model. A model completely rewired around the immense power of artificial intelligence.

“Where, faced with that power, the state is neither a blocker nor a shirker—but an agile, proactive partner. In Britain, we want to turn the relics of economic eras past into AI Growth Zones.”

As part of his visit to the US, Peter Kyle will also engage with prominent companies in the tech sector, including OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, and Vantage. His aim is to encourage more of these companies to establish a presence in the UK, positioning it as their “Silicon Valley home from home.”

Furthermore, the Technology Secretary is expected to state: “There is a real hunger for investment in Britain, and people who are optimistic about the future, and hopeful for the opportunities which AI will bring for them and their families. States owe it to their citizens to support it. Not through diktat or directive, but through partnership.”

The UK Prime Minister and the President of the US have placed AI at the forefront of the transatlantic relationship. During a visit to the White House last month, the Prime Minister confirmed that both nations are collaborating on a new economic deal with advanced technologies at its core.

Since unveiling its new AI strategy at the beginning of the year and assigning the technology a central role in delivering the government’s ‘Plan for Change,’ the UK has already witnessed significant investment from US companies seeking to establish AI bases in Britain.

Notable recent investments include a substantial £12 billion commitment from Vantage Data Centers to significantly expand Britain’s data infrastructure, which is projected to create approximately 11,500 jobs. Additionally, last month saw the UK Government formalise a partnership with Anthropic to enhance collaboration on leveraging AI to improve public services nationwide.

By strengthening these partnerships with leading US tech firms and investors, the UK’s AI sector is well-positioned for sustained growth as the government aims to continue to remove innovation barriers.

(Photo by Billy Joachim)

See also: OpenAI and Google call for US government action to secure AI lead

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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“As America’s world-leading AI sector approaches AGI, with a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) determined to overtake us by 2030, the Trump Administration’s new AI Action Plan can ensure that American-led AI built on democratic principles continues to prevail over CCP-built autocratic, authoritarian AI,” wrote OpenAI, in a letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In a separate letter, Google echoed this sentiment by stating, “While America currently leads the world in AI – and is home to the most capable and widely adopted AI models and tools – our lead is not assured.”    

A plan for the AI Action Plan

OpenAI highlighted AI’s potential to “scale human ingenuity,” driving productivity, prosperity, and freedom.  The company likened the current advancements in AI to historical leaps in innovation, such as the domestication of the horse, the invention of the printing press, and the advent of the computer.

We are at “the doorstep of the next leap in prosperity,” according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The company stresses the importance of “freedom of intelligence,” advocating for open access to AGI while safeguarding against autocratic control and bureaucratic barriers.

OpenAI also outlined three scaling principles:

1. The intelligence of an AI model roughly equals the log of the resources used to train and run it.

2. The cost to use a given level of AI capability falls by about 10x every 12 months.

3. The amount of calendar time it takes to improve an AI model keeps decreasing.

Google also has a three-point plan for the US to focus on:

1. Invest in AI: Google called for coordinated action to address the surging energy needs of AI infrastructure, balanced export controls, continued funding for R&D, and pro-innovation federal policy frameworks.

2. Accelerate and modernise government AI adoption: Google urged the federal government to lead by example through AI adoption and deployment, including implementing multi-vendor, interoperable AI solutions and streamlining procurement processes.

3. Promote pro-innovation approaches internationally: Google advocated for an active international economic policy to support AI innovation, championing market-driven technical standards, working with aligned countries to address national security risks, and combating restrictive foreign AI barriers.

AI policy recommendations for the US government

Both companies provided detailed policy recommendations to the US government.

OpenAI’s proposals include:

• A regulatory strategy that ensures the freedom to innovate through voluntary partnership between the federal government and the private sector.    

• An export control strategy that promotes the global adoption of American AI systems while protecting America’s AI lead.    

• A copyright strategy that protects the rights of content creators while preserving American AI models’ ability to learn from copyrighted material.    

• An infrastructure opportunity strategy to drive growth, including policies to support a thriving AI-ready workforce and ecosystems of labs, start-ups, and larger companies.    

• An ambitious government adoption strategy to ensure the US government itself sets an example of using AI to benefit its citizens.    

Google’s recommendations include:

• Advancing energy policies to power domestic data centres, including transmission and permitting reform.    

• Adopting balanced export control policies that support market access while targeting pertinent risks.    

• Accelerating AI R&D, streamlining access to computational resources, and incentivising public-private partnerships.    

• Crafting a pro-innovation federal framework for AI, including federal legislation that prevents a patchwork of state laws, ensuring industry has access to data that enables fair learning, emphasising sector-specific and risk-based AI governance, and supporting workforce initiatives to develop AI skills.    

Both OpenAI and Google emphasise the need for swift and decisive action. OpenAI warned that America’s lead in AI is narrowing, while Google stressed that policy decisions will determine the outcome of the global AI competition.

“We are in a global AI competition, and policy decisions will determine the outcome,” Google explained. “A pro-innovation approach that protects national security and ensures that everyone benefits from AI is essential to realising AI’s transformative potential and ensuring that America’s lead endures.”

(Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst) 

See also: Gemma 3: Google launches its latest open AI models

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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Laura Foster, Associate Director of Technology and Innovation at techUK, said: “The UK has a unique opportunity to lead in the global semiconductor landscape, but success will require bold action and sustained commitment.

“By accelerating the implementation of the National Semiconductor Strategy, we can unlock investment, foster innovation, and strengthen our position in this critical industry.  

Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from consumer electronics to AI data centres. With the global semiconductor market projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, the UK must act to secure its historic leadership in this lucrative and strategically vital industry.

“We must act at pace to secure the UK’s semiconductor future and as such our technological and economic resilience,” explains Foster.

UK semiconductor industry strengths and challenges

The UK has long been a leader in semiconductor design and intellectual property (IP), with Cambridge in particular serving as a global hub for innovation.

Companies like Arm, which designs chips used in 99% of the world’s smartphones, exemplify the UK’s strengths in this area. However, a techUK report warns that these strengths are under threat due to insufficient investment, skills shortages, and a lack of tailored support for the sector.

“The UK is not starting from zero,” the report states. “We have globally competitive capabilities in design and IP, but we must double down on these strengths to compete internationally.”

The UK’s semiconductor industry contributed £12 billion in turnover in 2021, with 90% of companies expecting growth in the coming years. However, the sector faces significant challenges, including high costs, limited access to private capital, and a reliance on international talent.

The report highlights that only 5% of funding for UK semiconductor startups originates domestically, with many companies struggling to find qualified investors.

A fundamental need for strategic investment and innovation

The report makes 27 recommendations across six key areas, including design and IP, R&D, manufacturing, skills, and global partnerships.

Some of the key proposals include:

• Turn current strengths into leadership: The UK must leverage its existing capabilities in design, IP, and compound semiconductors. This includes supporting regional clusters like Cambridge and South Wales, which have proven track records of innovation.

• Establishing a National Semiconductor Centre: This would act as a central hub for the industry, providing support for businesses, coordinating R&D efforts, and fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

• Expanding R&D tax credits: The report calls for the inclusion of capital expenditure in R&D tax credits to incentivise investment in new facilities and equipment.

• Creating a Design Competence Centre: This would provide shared facilities for chip designers, reducing the financial risk of innovation and supporting the development of advanced designs.

• Nurturing skills: The UK must address the skills shortage in the semiconductor sector by upskilling workers, attracting international talent, and promoting STEM education.

• Capitalise on global partnerships: The UK must strengthen its position in the global semiconductor supply chain by forming strategic partnerships with allied countries. This includes collaborating on R&D, securing access to critical materials, and navigating export controls.

Urgent action is required to secure the UK semiconductor industry

The report warns that the UK risks falling behind other nations if it does not act quickly. Countries like the US, China, and the EU have already announced significant investments in their domestic semiconductor industries.

The European Chips Act, for example, has committed €43 billion to support semiconductor infrastructure, skills, and startups.

“Governments across the world are acting quickly to attract semiconductor companies while also building domestic capability,” the report states. “The UK must use its existing resources tactically, playing to its globally recognised strengths within the semiconductor value chain.”

The UK’s semiconductor industry has the potential to be a global leader, but this will require sustained investment, strategic planning, and collaboration between government, industry, and academia.

“The UK Government should look to its semiconductor ambitions as an essential part of delivering the wider Industrial Strategy and securing not just the fastest growth in the G7, but also secure and resilient economic growth,” the report concludes.

(Photo by Rocco Dipoppa)

See also: AI in 2025: Purpose-driven models, human integration, and more

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Schmidt cautioned that AI could be weaponised by extremists and “rogue states” such as North Korea, Iran, and Russia to “harm innocent people.”

Schmidt expressed concern that rapid AI advancements could be exploited to create weapons, including biological attacks. Highlighting the dangers, he said: “The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI, I talk about extreme risk.”

Using a chilling analogy, Schmidt referenced the al-Qaeda leader responsible for the 9/11 attacks: “I’m always worried about the Osama bin Laden scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people.”

He emphasised the pace of AI development and its potential to be co-opted by nations or groups with malevolent intent.

“Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal … they could misuse it and do real harm,” Schmidt warns.

Oversight without stifling innovation

Schmidt urged governments to closely monitor private tech companies pioneering AI research. While noting that tech leaders are generally aware of AI’s societal implications, they may make decisions based on different values from those of public officials.

“My experience with the tech leaders is that they do have an understanding of the impact they’re having, but they might make a different values judgement than the government would make.”

Schmidt also endorsed the export controls introduced under former US President Joe Biden last year to restrict the sale of advanced microchips. The measure is aimed at slowing the progress of geopolitical adversaries in AI research.  

Global divisions around preventing AI misuse

The tech veteran was in Paris when he made his remarks, attending the AI Action Summit, a two-day event that wrapped up on Tuesday.

The summit, attended by 57 countries, saw the announcement of an agreement on “inclusive” AI development. Signatories included major players like China, India, the EU, and the African Union.  

However, the UK and the US declined to sign the communique. The UK government said the agreement lacked “practical clarity” and failed to address critical “harder questions” surrounding national security. 

Schmidt cautioned against excessive regulation that might hinder progress in this transformative field. This was echoed by US Vice-President JD Vance who warned that heavy-handed regulation “would kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”.  

This reluctance to endorse sweeping international accords reflects diverging approaches to AI governance. The EU has championed a more restrictive framework for AI, prioritising consumer protections, while countries like the US and UK are opting for more agile and innovation-driven strategies. 

Schmidt pointed to the consequences of Europe’s tight regulatory stance, predicting that the region would miss out on pioneering roles in AI.

“The AI revolution, which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is not going to be invented in Europe,” he remarked.

Prioritising national and global safety

Schmidt’s comments come against a backdrop of increasing scrutiny over AI’s dual-use potential—its ability to be used for both beneficial and harmful purposes.

From deepfakes to autonomous weapons, AI poses a bevy of risks if left without measures to guard against misuse. Leaders and experts, including Schmidt, are advocating for a balanced approach that fosters innovation while addressing these dangers head-on.

While international cooperation remains a complex and contentious issue, the overarching consensus is clear: without safeguards, AI’s evolution could have unintended – and potentially catastrophic – consequences.

(Photo by Guillaume Paumier under CC BY 3.0 license. Cropped to landscape from original version.)

See also: NEPC: AI sprint risks environmental catastrophe

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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While the US and China are often seen as frontrunners, von der Leyen emphasised that the AI race “is far from over” and that Europe has distinct strengths to carve a leading role for itself.

“This is the third summit on AI safety in just over one year,” von der Leyen remarked. “In the same period, three new generations of ever more powerful AI models have been released. Some expect models that will approach human reasoning within a year’s time.”

The European Commission President set the tone of the event by contrasting the groundwork laid in previous summits with the urgency of this one.

“Past summits focused on laying the groundwork for AI safety. Together, we built a shared consensus that AI will be safe, that it will promote our values and benefit humanity. But this Summit is focused on action. And that is exactly what we need right now.”

As the world witnesses AI’s disruptive power, von der Leyen urged Europe to “formulate a vision of where we want AI to take us, as society and as humanity.” Growing adoption, “in the key sectors of our economy, and for the key challenges of our times,” provides a golden opportunity for the continent to lead, she argued.

The case for a European approach to the AI race 

Von der Leyen rejected notions that Europe has fallen behind its global competitors.

“Too often, I hear that Europe is late to the race – while the US and China have already got ahead. I disagree,” she stated. “The frontier is constantly moving. And global leadership is still up for grabs.”

Instead of replicating what other regions are doing, she called for doubling down on Europe’s unique strengths to define the continent’s distinct approach to AI.

“Too often, I have heard that we should replicate what others are doing and run after their strengths,” she said. “I think that instead, we should invest in what we can do best and build on our strengths here in Europe, which are our science and technology mastery that we have given to the world.”

Von der Leyen defined three pillars of the so-called “European brand of AI” that sets it apart: 1) focusing on high-complexity, industry-specific applications, 2) taking a cooperative, collaborative approach to innovation, and 3) embracing open-source principles.

“This summit shows there is a distinct European brand of AI,” she asserted. “It is already driving innovation and adoption. And it is picking up speed.”

Accelerating innovation: AI factories and gigafactories  

To maintain its competitive edge, Europe must supercharge its AI innovation, von der Leyen stressed.

A key component of this strategy lies in its computational infrastructure. Europe already boasts some of the world’s fastest supercomputers, which are now being leveraged through the creation of “AI factories.”

“In just a few months, we have set up a record of 12 AI factories,” von der Leyen revealed. “And we are investing €10 billion in them. This is not a promise—it is happening right now, and it is the largest public investment for AI in the world, which will unlock over ten times more private investment.”

Beyond these initial steps, von der Leyen unveiled an even more ambitious initiative. AI gigafactories, built on the scale of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, will provide the infrastructure needed for training AI systems at unprecedented scales. They aim to foster collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.

“We provide the infrastructure for large computational power,” von der Leyen explained. “Talents of the world are welcome. Industries will be able to collaborate and federate their data.”

The cooperative ethos underpinning AI gigafactories is part of a broader European push to balance competition with collaboration.

“AI needs competition but also collaboration,” she emphasised, highlighting that the initiative will serve as a “safe space” for these cooperative efforts.

Building trust with the AI Act

Crucially, von der Leyen reiterated Europe’s commitment to making AI safe and trustworthy. She pointed to the EU AI Act as the cornerstone of this strategy, framing it as a harmonised framework to replace fragmented national regulations across member states.

“The AI Act [will] provide one single set of safety rules across the European Union – 450 million people – instead of 27 different national regulations,” she said, before acknowledging businesses’ concerns about regulatory complexities.

“At the same time, I know, we have to make it easier, we have to cut red tape. And we will.”

€200 billion to remain in the AI race

Financing such ambitious plans naturally requires significant resources. Von der Leyen praised the recently launched EU AI Champions Initiative, which has already pledged €150 billion from providers, investors, and industry.

During her speech at the summit, von der Leyen announced the Commission’s complementary InvestAI initiative that will bring in an additional €50 billion. Altogether, the result is mobilising a massive €200 billion in public-private AI investments.

“We will have a focus on industrial and mission-critical applications,” she said. “It will be the largest public-private partnership in the world for the development of trustworthy AI.”

Ethical AI is a global responsibility

Von der Leyen closed her address by framing Europe’s AI ambitions within a broader, humanitarian perspective, arguing that ethical AI is a global responsibility.

“Cooperative AI can be attractive well beyond Europe, including for our partners in the Global South,” she proclaimed, extending a message of inclusivity.

Von der Leyen expressed full support for the AI Foundation launched at the summit, highlighting its mission to ensure widespread access to AI’s benefits.

“AI can be a gift to humanity. But we must make sure that benefits are widespread and accessible to all,” she remarked.

“We want AI to be a force for good. We want an AI where everyone collaborates and everyone benefits. That is our path – our European way.”

See also: AI Action Summit: Leaders call for unity and equitable development

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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DeepSeek, practically unknown just weeks ago, took the tech world by storm—gaining global acclaim for its cutting-edge performance while sparking debates reminiscent of the TikTok saga.

Its rise has been fuelled in part by its business model: unlike many of its American counterparts, including OpenAI and Google, DeepSeek offered its advanced powers for free.

However, concerns have been raised about DeepSeek’s extensive data collection practices and a probe has been launched by Microsoft and OpenAI over a breach of the latter’s system by a group allegedly linked to the Chinese AI startup.

A threat to US AI dominance

DeepSeek’s astonishing capabilities have, within a matter of weeks, positioned it as a major competitor to American AI stalwarts like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini. But, alongside the app’s prowess, concerns have emerged over alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  

According to security researchers, hidden code within DeepSeek’s AI has been found transmitting user data to China Mobile—a state-owned telecoms company banned in the US. DeepSeek’s own privacy policy permits the collection of data such as IP addresses, device information, and, most alarmingly, even keystroke patterns.

Such findings have led to bipartisan efforts in the US Congress to curtail DeepSeek’s influence, with lawmakers scrambling to protect sensitive data from potential CCP oversight.

Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) are spearheading efforts to introduce legislation that would prohibit DeepSeek from being installed on all government-issued devices. 

Several federal agencies, among them NASA and the US Navy, have already preemptively issued a ban on DeepSeek. Similarly, the state of Texas has also introduced restrictions.

Potential ban of DeepSeek a TikTok redux?

The controversy surrounding DeepSeek bears similarities to debates over TikTok, the social video app owned by Chinese company ByteDance. TikTok remains under fire over accusations that user data is accessible to the CCP, though definitive proof has yet to materialise.

In contrast, DeepSeek’s case involves clear evidence, as revealed by cybersecurity investigators who identified the app’s unauthorised data transmissions. While some might say DeepSeek echoes the TikTok controversy, security experts argue that it represents a much starker and documented threat.

Lawmakers around the world are taking note. In addition to the US proposals, DeepSeek has already faced bans from government systems in countries including Australia, South Korea, and Italy.  

AI becomes a geopolitical battleground

The concerns over DeepSeek exemplify how AI has now become a geopolitical flashpoint between global superpowers—especially between the US and China.

American AI firms like OpenAI have enjoyed a dominant position in recent years, but Chinese companies have poured resources into catching up and, in some cases, surpassing their US competitors.  

DeepSeek’s lightning-quick growth has unsettled that balance, not only because of its AI models but also due to its pricing strategy, which undercuts competitors by offering the app free of charge. That begs the question of whether it’s truly “free” or if the cost is paid in lost privacy and security.

China Mobile’s involvement raises further eyebrows, given the state-owned telecom company’s prior sanctions and prohibition from the US market. Critics worry that data collected through platforms like DeepSeek could fill gaps in Chinese surveillance activities or even potential economic manipulations.

A nationwide DeepSeek ban is on the cards

If the proposed US legislation is passed, it could represent the first step toward nationwide restrictions or an outright ban on DeepSeek. Geopolitical tension between China and the West continues to shape policies in advanced technologies, and AI appears to be the latest arena for this ongoing chess match.  

In the meantime, calls to regulate applications like DeepSeek are likely to grow louder. Conversations about data privacy, national security, and ethical boundaries in AI development are becoming ever more urgent as individuals and organisations across the globe navigate the promises and pitfalls of next-generation tools.  

DeepSeek’s rise may have, indeed, rattled the AI hierarchy, but whether it can maintain its momentum in the face of increasing global pushback remains to be seen.

(Photo by Solen Feyissa)

See also: AVAXAI brings DeepSeek to Web3 with decentralised AI agents

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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A report published today by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) highlights the urgent need for data centres to adopt greener practices, particularly as the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan gains traction.

The report, Engineering Responsible AI: Foundations for Environmentally Sustainable AI, was developed in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT.

While stressing that data centres enabling AI systems can be built to consume fewer resources like energy and water, the report highlights that infrastructure and regulatory conditions must align for these efficiencies to materialise.

Unlocking the potential of AI while minimising environmental risks  

AI is heralded as capable of driving economic growth, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods. Launched as a central pillar of the UK’s tech strategy, the AI Opportunities Action Plan is intended to “boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people’s everyday lives.”  

Use cases for AI that are already generating public benefits include accelerating drug discovery, forecasting weather events, optimising energy systems, and even aiding climate science and improving sustainability efforts. However, this growing reliance on AI also poses environmental risks from the infrastructure required to power these systems.  

Data centres, which serve as the foundation of AI technologies, consume vast amounts of energy and water. Increasing demand has raised concerns about global competition for limited resources, such as sustainable energy and drinking water. Google and Microsoft, for instance, have recorded rising water usage by their data centres each year since 2020. Much of this water comes from drinking sources, sparking fears about resource depletion.  

With plans already in place to reform the UK’s planning system to facilitate the construction of data centres, the report calls for urgent policies to manage their environmental impact. Accurate and transparent data on resource consumption is currently lacking, which hampers policymakers’ ability to assess the true scale of these impacts and act accordingly.

Five steps to sustainable AI  

The NEPC is urging the government to spearhead change by prioritising sustainable AI development. The report outlines five key steps policymakers can act upon immediately to position the UK as a leader in resource-efficient AI:  

1. Expand environmental reporting mandates
2. Communicate the sector’s environmental impacts
3. Set sustainability requirements for data centres
4. Reconsider data collection, storage, and management practices
5. Lead by example with government investment

Mandatory environmental reporting forms a cornerstone of the recommendations. This involves measuring data centres’ energy sources, water consumption, carbon emissions, and e-waste recycling practices to provide the resource use data necessary for policymaking.  

Raising public awareness is also vital. Communicating the environmental costs of AI can encourage developers to optimise AI tools, use smaller datasets, and adopt more efficient approaches. Notably, the report recommends embedding environmental design and sustainability topics into computer science and AI education at both school and university levels.  

Smarter, greener data centres  

One of the most urgent calls to action involves redesigning data centres to reduce their environmental footprint. The report advocates for innovations like waste heat recovery systems, zero drinking water use for cooling, and the exclusive use of 100% carbon-free energy certificates.  

Efforts like those at Queen Mary University of London, where residual heat from a campus data centre is repurposed to provide heating and hot water, offer a glimpse into the possibilities of greener tech infrastructure.  

In addition, the report suggests revising legislation on mandatory data retention to reduce the unnecessary environmental costs of storing vast amounts of data long-term. Proposals for a National Data Library could drive best practices by centralising and streamlining data storage.  

Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nottingham and Chair of the working group behind the report, urged swift action:  

“In recent years, advances in AI systems and services have largely been driven by a race for size and scale, demanding increasing amounts of computational power. As a result, AI systems and services are growing at a rate unparalleled by other high-energy systems—generally without much regard for resource efficiency.  

“This is a dangerous trend, and we face a real risk that our development, deployment, and use of AI could do irreparable damage to the environment.”  

Rodden added that reliable data on these impacts is critical. “To build systems and services that effectively use resources, we first need to effectively monitor their environmental cost. Once we have access to trustworthy data… we can begin to effectively target efficiency in development, deployment, and use – and plan a sustainable AI future for the UK.”

Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure Data Centres Group, underscored the role of engineering in improving efficiency. “Some of this will come from improvements to AI models and hardware, making them less energy-intensive. But we must also ensure that the data centres housing AI’s computing power and storage are as sustainable as possible.  

“That means prioritising renewable energy, minimising water use, and reducing carbon emissions – both directly and indirectly. Using low-carbon building materials is also essential.”  

Childs emphasised the importance of a coordinated approach from the start of projects. “As the UK government accelerates AI adoption – through AI Growth Zones and streamlined planning for data centres – sustainability must be a priority at every step.”  

For Alex Bardell, Chair of BCS’ Green IT Specialist Group, the focus is on optimising AI processes. “Our report has discussed optimising models for efficiency. Previous attempts to limit the drive toward increased computational power and larger models have faced significant resistance, with concerns that the UK may fall behind in the AI arena; this may not necessarily be true.  

“It is crucial to reevaluate our approach to developing sustainable AI in the future.”  

Time for transparency around AI environmental risks

Public awareness of AI’s environmental toll remains low. Recent research by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that fewer than one in six UK residents are aware of the significant environmental costs associated with AI systems.  

“AI providers must be transparent about these effects,” said Professor Sarvapali Ramchurn, CEO of Responsible AI UK and a Fellow of the IET. “If we cannot measure it, we cannot manage it, nor ensure benefits for all. This report’s recommendations will aid national discussions on the sustainability of AI systems and the trade-offs involved.”  

As the UK pushes forward with ambitious plans to lead in AI development, ensuring environmental sustainability must take centre stage. By adopting policies and practices outlined in the NEPC report, the government can support AI growth while safeguarding finite resources for future generations.

(Photo by Braden Collum)

See also: Sustainability is key in 2025 for businesses to advance AI efforts

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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