UK gov to launch ten-year compute review

The UK government is to launch a 'decade-long' review into the state of computing across the country as part of its new digital strategy.

Speaking at London Tech Week, the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Future of Compute Review, which aims to provide recommendations to form the basis of a long-term plan for the government's approach to computing.

AI expert professor Zoubin Ghahramiani will lead the review, drawing from a wealth of experience as a professor of information engineering at the University of Cambridge and vice president of research at Google AI and director of Google Brain.

Speaking about the project, Ghahramani said that scientific research and fostering more competitive businesses were now dependent on more powerful computers and that ​​advanced compute was now fundamental to the UK's national interest.

"This review will deliver a long-term plan for UK compute, enabling government, business and academia to remain at the forefront of innovation and be prepared to fight the biggest challenges of this century," he said.

The project, which will be reported to the chancellor and Nadine Dorris, the secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, will look at the UK's computational needs and help develop cost-effective research solutions.

The government is keen to ramp up the use of high-performance computing and capitalise on new technologies, such as AI, which Sunak said would be "critical" for productivity, prosperity and innovation in the UK.

"From modelling the effects of climate change, to powering the discovery of new drugs and increasing business innovation, the capabilities of advanced compute are endless," Sunak said.

"The UK is a world leader in innovation and this review will help us maintain that position - as we embrace new technologies and the people that create them to drive forward our growth and productivity."