13.01.2025 17:45 Uhr, Quelle: Engadget

UK to fast-track data center approvals as part of AI action plan

Amid signs of a stagnating economy, the UK is going all-in on AI. On Monday, British Minister Keir Starmer announced a new AI Opportunities Action Plan. At the center of the initiative are “AI Growth Zones,” which the government plans to establish in de-industrialized areas throughout the country. In these areas, the Labour government will fast-track planning approvals for data centers and offer better access to the national energy grid. Starmer said the UK’s first AI Growth Zone would be established in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to the country’s Atomic Energy Authority. More zones will be announced in the summer. At the same time, Starmer’s government plans to increase state-owned compute capacity by a factor of 20, starting with the “immediate” construction of a new supercomputer with “enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second.” As of November 2024, the UK has 14 supercomputers on the TOP500 list, putting it behind — by a

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