GOV.UK founder warns Britain is ‘dangerously dependent’ on foreign AI
Britain risks becoming “dangerously dependent” on a handful of foreign tech companies as AI spreads through businesses and public services, the founder of GOV.UK has warned. Mike Bracken, who founded the Government Digital Service and led the creation of GOV.UK, said organisations were steadily giving up control of critical systems as they turned to external [...]
The founder of GOV.UK, Mike Bracken, has warned that Britain is becoming dangerously dependent on foreign tech companies as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) expands in businesses and public services. Bracken, who led the creation of GOV.UK, highlighted that organizations are increasingly ceding control of critical systems to external tech and AI providers.
This trend comes as new statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal the rapid integration of AI into British businesses. According to the latest data, 35% of UK businesses with at least 10 employees were utilizing AI in June, a significant increase from 12% in 2023. Among larger companies, the figure has reached 49%.
However, comparatively little of this technology is being developed domestically or in the UK itself. Of businesses using AI, 45% relied on free-to-use software, 43% purchased external or ready-made software, and only 12% developed it internally. Bracken emphasized that institutions typically lose sovereignty not through a single catastrophic event but through a series of seemingly reasonable decisions.
He stated, "The biggest risk facing many organisations today is not that somebody takes control away from them. It’s that they gradually give it away." The ONS has recognized this issue in its efforts to measure AI's contribution to the economy, noting that leading foundation-model providers, such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, are primarily American.
Consequently, much of the technology utilized by British companies is accessed through licensing agreements rather than owned as a UK asset. Additionally, most specialized chips required to run advanced AI are produced outside Britain and imported. The UK government has acknowledged these risks and has committed £500 million to its Sovereign AI program and £1.1 billion to an AI Hardware Plan in an attempt to enhance domestic capabilities in the chips and infrastructure supporting AI technology.
However, Bracken cautioned that organizations often realize the consequences of their technology decisions only when they attempt to switch suppliers or alter their direction. He noted, "Too often, institutions only discover they have lost that flexibility when circumstances demand it." MPs and peers have raised concerns about how Britain should safeguard critical systems in the face of the concentration of cloud computing, data, and AI among a limited number of global companies.
Recent parliamentary evidence has also highlighted the vulnerability created by technological "single points of failure."
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
