Wednesday’s Budget is a pivotal day for the future of UK tech. While it seems likely that there will be changes to taxation that could be tough for some entrepreneurs, there’s also a big opportunity to invest in growth as UK finance minister Rachel Reeves has signalled that £50bn could be unlocked to spend on infrastructure projects.
It’s absolutely vital that some of this money is spent on developing the country’s next-generation compute capacity.
As the last government recognised when it committed £800 million of investment to an exascale computer at The University of Edinburgh, supercomputers are game-changing engines of future economic growth.
Their necessity explains the furore generated in the business and academic communities when the new Labour administration revealed plans to shelve £1.3 billion in funding for tech and AI, including the Edinburgh project and a related £500 million fund to support new supercomputers for AI research.
Failing to invest in next-generation supercomputer infrastructure today is the 21st-century equivalent of not building roads and canals during the Industrial Revolution. It’s that essential.
Why this matters
Next-generation compute is set to drive breakthroughs in everything from drug discovery to financial modelling via supply chain and how we understand language in the near future.
These computers can perform multiple complex calculations at unprecedented speeds at lower costs than existing systems, giving them the potential to solve currently intractable problems. They have the capacity to help countries face the climate crisis by predicting long-term environmental patterns and improving defences through their ability to enhance cybersecurity and simulate complex scenarios.
Next-generation computing will also create value for businesses and enable startups to accelerate their development exponentially.
World-class compute is a sound investment: the ROI statistics are compelling. A study evaluating the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council investments into high-performance computing found that every pound spent generates a return of between £6.50 to £19.50.
Investment in the sector would create high-skilled jobs in locations from Edinburgh to Bristol and beyond, often around research universities, helping drive growth outside of London.
Falling behind
If the government does not adequately support home-grown supercomputing, the UK risks losing its status as a leading tech hub as its startups struggle to compete with rivals in Europe and the US. It would also put one of the only world-beating assets the UK still retains — its universities — in jeopardy.
Both the US and the European Union are investing in supercomputing capacity. Three of the EU’s supercomputers — LEONARDO, LUMI and MareNostrum5 — are now world class, and the European Commission’s AI Factories initiative is facilitating startups’ access to AI-dedicated supercomputers.
UK-based researchers and startups need similar, convenient access and support to remain competitive.
We understand that there are significant resource pressures on the Reeves and trade-offs to be made in her upcoming Budget but, if it is true that up to £50 billion can be freed up to spend on large-scale projects, supercomputing must be a recipient. This is not an esoteric area that will remain in labs — it will underpin the jobs of the future.
If the UK invests now, there will be more funding for public services down the line.
Opportune timing
There are fortunate aspects to the timing of this Budget — the UK just received a significant growth upgrade from the International Monetary Fund and interest rates are set to come down further, making it easier for the government to borrow.
In addition to being a sound longer-term investment, creating significant compute capacity would also mean scope for government and business to work together. Demand from industry is there and the government could provide some guarantees to bring in private finance or participate itself as an investor to drive private investment — knowing that larger corporations would want to use the capacity from day one.
If this new government does deliver enough funding and encourages a conducive wider investment environment, Britain could thrive in the supercomputing era. The depth of tech, research and business talent in this country is second to none in Europe, and the appetite from startups, corporations and researchers is there.
A great deal of work has already been undertaken in Edinburgh in preparation for this investment. Additional schemes can be balanced around the country, and indeed there are a number of sites which would be suitable to host a supercomputer system.
Bletchley Park is such a site: with obvious historical symbolism, geographic advantages and the recent host of the global AI safety summit.
Britain has the innovative startup founders, the researchers and the investors needed to seize this immense opportunity area — we just need our government to play its part.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/ai-compute-uk-budget/
