{"text":[[{"start":8.58,"text":"Britain will not slow down on AI despite a backlash against the technology in the US midterm elections, the UK government’s growth minister has insisted."}],[{"start":18.94,"text":"After Democratic candidates swept to victory across the US promising tougher regulations and a slowdown of data centre construction, Dan Tomlinson said it was a mistake to “assume the same battle lines will be drawn here”."}],[{"start":31.36,"text":"Britain can avoid a “big polarising debate on data centres” and ensure that construction continues as “essential infrastructure”, he told the FT."}],[{"start":39.72,"text":"US tech stocks fell sharply after American voters resoundingly rejected President Donald Trump’s approach to the data centre construction boom in the country’s midterm elections, although they steadied on Friday."}],[{"start":52.68,"text":"Tomlinson said that Britain’s government “has watched the free-for-all in parts of the US [and learnt] lessons from it”, insisting the UK was taking a different approach that already incorporated some of the oversight demanded by victorious Democratic candidates."}],[{"start":67,"text":"“Move too quickly without bringing communities with you, and people understandably start worrying about the impact on their area and asking what they’re getting in return,” he said."}],[{"start":77.8,"text":"Tomlinson pointed to the government’s “data centre covenant”, published alongside its Budget last month, that will see data centres required to promise to invest in local communities and create jobs to win government backing."}],[{"start":89.4,"text":"“As AI becomes more widely used across our economy, Britain will need more of the data centres that support it,” he said. “But we won’t allow that growth to come at any cost.”"}],[{"start":100.8,"text":"Britain’s data centre construction is dwarfed by the American boom, with US computing capacity projected to be about 20 times higher than Britain’s ambition of 6GW by 2030, according to UK government estimates."}],[{"start":114.08,"text":"“Our problem is not that we have an abundance of data centre construction that our politics needs to reckon with, it’s that build-out is slower here than it could be,” Tomlinson said. “The pace of investment here is, frankly, too low for what we need to stay at the forefront as AI technology develops.”"}],[{"start":131.32,"text":"He added that promises to lower energy costs and prioritise data centre grid connections would make it easier to build, but acknowledged “we can’t turn this round overnight”."}],[{"start":142.28,"text":"UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday argued that the backlash in the US was both an opportunity for Britain and a reason to be careful about the technology."}],[{"start":151.36,"text":"“You’ve got to find the balance between the two. There is a case for AI for good. But I think you also have to be very clear-eyed about the potential risks,” he said."}],[{"start":161.6,"text":"The Treasury is also acutely aware of the need to harness AI to boost growth in order to improve living standards and reduce the need for painful cuts to public services, according to senior government figures."}],[{"start":173.5,"text":"On Thursday, the Bank of England upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 1.6 per cent, from 1.1 per cent projected in July, reflecting stronger than expected economic activity, particularly in AI-related sectors."}],[{"start":187.72,"text":"BoE governor Andrew Bailey said that growth “was not expected” and that at least part of it appeared “to have been driven by AI investment”."}],[{"start":196.36,"text":"Liz Kendall, who was technology secretary under Sir Keir Starmer, said the backlash against AI infrastructure in the US offered an opportunity for Britain."}],[{"start":205.16,"text":"“If you’re in a race and someone in the lead falters, you don’t slow down, you put your foot on the accelerator,” she said."}],[{"start":212.52,"text":"“This is the moment to set out a distinctively British vision of AI [that says] if you are not for the wild west of America or the authoritarian controls of China, come and build here.”"}],[{"start":222.76,"text":"AI minister Kanishka Narayan told the FT last month that the government has “to respond to people’s concerns, and frankly, I share a lot of their concerns”. He said Britain’s approach was not just “let it rip”, contrasting the US approach with a “distinctly Labour” policy on AI."}],[{"start":239.16,"text":"Regulation and state institutions in Britain would “shape much more deeply the trajectory of technology with our values”, he argued."}],[{"start":247,"text":"Additional reporting by Valentina Romei"}],[{"start":254.84,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794046473_5042.mp3"}