The "something something towns bit" is quite reminiscent of how the last government behaved too, for example moving a bunch of treasury civil servants from London to Darlington for no apparent reason beyond "we want to hold Darlington at the next election".
Data centres might be low margin at the moment, but if AI really takes off and the world can't build compute fast enough to take advantage, then surely physical control over compute becomes geopolitically vital? Do you think this scenario is unlikely?
HMG scored an own goal with "The snappily-named AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January 2025" at the point when it was announced
> Unveiling details of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan today, the Prime Minister will say AI can transform the lives of working people – it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get Britain building, help drive down admin for teachers so they can get on with teaching our children, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads.
The "something something towns bit" is quite reminiscent of how the last government behaved too, for example moving a bunch of treasury civil servants from London to Darlington for no apparent reason beyond "we want to hold Darlington at the next election".
Data centres might be low margin at the moment, but if AI really takes off and the world can't build compute fast enough to take advantage, then surely physical control over compute becomes geopolitically vital? Do you think this scenario is unlikely?
HMG scored an own goal with "The snappily-named AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January 2025" at the point when it was announced
> Unveiling details of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan today, the Prime Minister will say AI can transform the lives of working people – it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get Britain building, help drive down admin for teachers so they can get on with teaching our children, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-sets-out-blueprint-to-turbocharge-ai