Anthropic · China · The Guardian Technology
UK must not be beholden to foreign AI, confirms head of Alan Turing Institute
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The UK must not become dependent on foreign AI systems that can be switched off at short notice and must develop its own versions of the technology, according to the head of the Alan Turing Institute.
Key facts
- Those concerns were highlighted last month by the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, announcing a new national centre to tackle state-backed disinformation, and Anthropic predicting the technology
- Williamson is the former head of His Majesty’s Government Communications Centre, a secretive government body that makes gadgets for UK spy agencies and counts Alan Turing, the second world war
- In 2025 the then technology secretary, Peter Kyle, wrote to ATI’s chair demanding the institute switch its main focus to defence and security
- In June Washington temporarily blocked the release outside the US of Anthropic’s latest models, and has reportedly asked leading AI labs to withhold their models from being tested by the UK’s AI
Summary
The country needs a stronger domestic position in AI in response to the US and China’s runaway leadership in the field, with “national resilience” a key focus for ATI said George Williamson. The institute is the UK’s leading AI research body and is under new leadership after the government, its main source of funding, demanded a strategic shift. “As AI becomes more embedded in critical services, in domains like defence, national security, critical infrastructure and healthcare we shouldn’t depend solely on systems we can’t inspect or control, or that could be restricted or even switched off,” said Williamson.