Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced a £5 billion investment in artificial intelligence in the United Kingdom. Over the next two years, the funds will be allocated to infrastructure development and scientific research.
This was reported by the BBC. The announcement comes just before US President Donald Trump’s state visit to London.
The focus of the investment is on the new data center in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. This $1 billion complex will be officially opened on Tuesday by British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves. Alphabet will further expand the location and also allocate additional resources to DeepMind, the London-based AI research center led by Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis.
Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet, emphasized in an interview with the BBC that the United Kingdom offers unique opportunities due to its strong position in advanced science. She spoke of a new technological partnership between the US and the UK, in which risks must be managed jointly but which also offers great opportunities for economic growth and improved public services.
According to Porat, the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan helped to secure the investment. However, she warned that further steps are needed to reap the benefits of the AI revolution. In her view, the success of this development cannot be taken for granted.
Alphabet reached a market value of more than $3 trillion this week. The company thus joined Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. Google’s stock has risen sharply in recent weeks, helped by a court ruling in the US that does not require the company to divest parts of its business. CEO Sundar Pichai has a strategy to position Google as an AI-first company. According to Porat, this forms the basis for the high stock market valuation.
Google is committed to renewable energy
There are concerns about the energy consumption of data centers. Alphabet is attempting to address this issue with an air-cooled system in Waltham Cross, where the heat released is utilized to warm homes and schools. An agreement has also been signed with Shell to supply 95 percent carbon-free energy for its UK operations. Porat emphasized that Google is committed to renewable energy, although dependence on sun and wind remains a challenge. That is why, according to her, modernization of the electricity grid is essential.
Regarding the impact of AI on employment, Porat stated that there are indeed risks, especially if companies only use AI to become more efficient. At the same time, entirely new sectors and applications are emerging, including in crucial professions such as healthcare and radiology. According to her, in many cases AI complements human skills. She encourages employees to actively engage with AI so that the technology is seen as a tool rather than a threat.