Data concerns aren’t putting Downing Street off Google DeepMind

Questions bout how the Big Tech giant will use information on British citizens and government systems remain unanswered. 

A major new deal between the UK Government and Google DeepMind has been signed this week. The aims is to drive AI research towards genuine benefits for Britain’s workforce, with the company’s first automated research lab set to open next year as part of the deal. 

The facility will be designed and built for full integration with Gemini, Google’s AI model. Initially this will centre on developing superconductor materials capable of distributing electricity without resistance. This could lead to major leaps in a number of areas, including medical imaging and the production of more powerful computer chips.

Fusion energy, education and responsible artificial intelligence will be other key research fields through a new partnership with the UK AI Security Institute. The aim of this is to improve the security and safety of the new models. According to DeepMind, this latest agreement will create a ‘blueprint for other countries’ looking for AI innovation leading to direct public gains. 

‘This partnership will make sure we harness developments in AI for public good so that everyone feels the benefits,’ said UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

‘That means using AI to tackle everyday challenges like cutting energy bills thanks to cheaper, greener energy and making our public services more efficient so that taxpayers’ money is spent on what matters most to people,’ he continued. ‘This is national renewal in action – driving innovation to make our country stronger and fairer for everyone.’

However, the UK Government’s increasingly close ties to Google continue to prove controversial. Critics argue that handing over vast quantities of data on British citizens and the public sector to a foreign entity, which will then be stored on servers which the country has no control over, in an overseas territory, poses a potential security risk. How a private tech giant with a history of online surveillance-driven business growth might use confidential information in the future, has also been brought into question. 

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