Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be put to work to transform cutting-edge research into innovations including healthcare, new public services and cutting-edge products. The United Kingdom’s largest public research funder UKRI (U.K. Research and Innovation) has set out its first-ever plan to put AI to work.
UKRI-backed work on AI has already made changes: from the RADAR AI system that detects faults on the railway network in real time, to the IXI Brain Atlas which is supporting more than 40 clinical trials into degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by helping to analyze brain scans.
In the recent Spending Review settlement, UKRI committed a record £1.6 billion of funding directly targeted at the AI sector over the next 4 years, its biggest single investment area for 2026 to 2030. This includes funding for specific activity that UKRI will deliver on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – which is subject to ch
