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• Fri Jul 4 2025

Minister tells Turing AI institute to focus on defence

17 hours ago Share Save Joshua Nevett Political reporter Zoe Kleinman Technology editor Share Save

BBC Cabinet minister Peter Kyle has written to the Alan Turing Institute

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has written to the UK's national institute for artificial intelligence (AI) to tell its bosses to refocus on defence and security. In a letter, Kyle said boosting the UK's AI capabilities was "critical" to national security and should be at the core of the Alan Turing Institute's activities. Kyle suggested the institute should overhaul its leadership team to reflect its "renewed purpose". The cabinet minister said further government investment in the institute would depend on the "delivery of the vision" he had outlined in the letter.

A spokesperson for the Alan Turing Institute said it welcomed "the recognition of our critical role and will continue to work closely with the government to support its priorities". "The Turing is focussing on high-impact missions that support the UK's sovereign AI capabilities, including in defence and national security," the spokesperson said. "We share the government's vision of AI transforming the UK for the better." The letter comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer committed to a Nato alliance target of increasing UK defence spending to 5% of national income by 2035 and invest more in military uses of AI technology. A recent government review of UK defence said "an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and artificial intelligence". Set up under Prime Minister David Cameron's government as the National Institute for Data Science in 2015, the institute added AI to its remit two years later. It receives public funding and was given a grant of ?100m by the previous Conservative government last year. The Turing institute's work has focused on AI and data science research in three main areas - environmental sustainability, health and national security. Lately, the institute has focused more on responsible AI and ethics, and one of its recent reports was on the increasing use of the tech by romance scammers. But Kyle's letter suggests the government wants the Turing institute to make defence its main priority, which would be a significant pivot for the organisation. "There is an opportunity for the ATI to seize this moment," Kyle wrote in the letter to the institute's chairman, Dr Douglas Gurr. "I believe the institute should build on its existing strengths, and reform itself further to prioritise its defence, national security and sovereign capabilities."

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