Sunak asks Starmer to ‘find his inner tech bro’ during PMQs

Leader of the opposition Rishi Sunak has asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “find his inner tech bro” and secure status for the UK as a “world-leader” in artificial intelligence (AI).  

Sunak, who was prime minister until July, asked Starmer to “continue to support emerging British tech business” during the last PMQs ahead of the budget.

The Conservative leader said: “Our two predecessors, so Tony Blair and Lord Hague, have repeatedly come together and powerfully argued in their joint reports that its vital for the future prosperity of British economy,  society and public services for us to be a world leader in technology and innovation.

“Now the prime minister may yet not be at our joint report writing stage yet. But in a similar spirit of cross-party agreement, can I ask him to find his inner tech bro and continue to support emerging British tech business and establish our country as the home of AI growth and innovation?”

The UK is amongst the top leading countries for AI research, only behind the US and China, and earlier this year a report by Tech Nation found the UK’s AI market was valued at more than £70bn.

In August the sector suffered a funding blow after the newly elected Labour government announced it was shelving £1.3bn of funding which had been promised for technology and AI projects.

Among the initiatives hit by the cut was the exascale supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, which was expecting to receive an £800m cash boost.

The government argued that these were “unfunded commitments” made by the previous Tory government.

Later that month AI minister Feryal Clark announced almost 100 AI projects across the UK would be supported by a new £32m funding boost, in a bid to “boost growth and deliver change right across the board”.

However, the exascale supercomputer was not part of the funding announcement.

Starmer told the chamber AI growth was a “really important point”, adding that the technology has “huge potential” for the UK’s public services.

He said: “The leader of the opposition held a summit last year on AI which was very important. We have been bringing together the leaders of AI. We have a huge advantage in this country, being ranked in the top three in the world. AI is going to have huge potential for our growth, for our public services, and I think the whole house should be fully supportive of this.”

Last year the UK hosted the first-ever global summit on AI safety, which saw 28 countries, including China, the US and EU members sign a world-first declaration to deal with the innovative technology.

Countries agreed on the potential risks stemming from AI, with a focal point on issues regarding cybersecurity, biotechnology, and disinformation.