UK and France Sign Several Partnerships on AI and Supercomputing

France and the UK signed numerous tech partnerships. The two countries pledge to work on shoring up critical infrastructure, establishing closer ties in supercomputing, and collaborating on AI research.

The announcements marked a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the UK, who stated in a speech at Imperial College London University this week that it was critical both nations work together on AI as they face the same challenge of lagging behind the US and China. To that end, the UK government stated it is launching a supercomputing partnership with France, led by the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing and GENCI, a facility in France.

Specifically, the countries will collaborate on efforts to scale computing power capacity and include sharing AI best practices with the view of turbocharging breakthroughs in the field. The efforts bolster the UK government’s £14 billion AI Opportunities Action Plan, an initiative intended to fuel the use of the technology across the economy. France and the UK are already working on AI, with the pair committing to technical work around frontier research, specifically around national security.

In a lengthy statement, the UK government also pointed to investments made by BT Group in France of approximately £130 million in the last financial year, connecting more than 80 French companies. It added that French cybersecurity player Thales is planning a £40 million AI-focused R&D investment as part of its cortAIx UK AI Accelerator, serving as a focal point for the company’s work on the technology in the UK.

This initiative will help the countries stay ahead of evolving threats, unleashing the potential of AI to increase mission success, the government stated. Away from AI, researchers from both countries will work on shielding critical infrastructure, including power supplies and emergency services, by developing more resilient navigation and timing systems.