UK announces €100 million AI biosecurity lab with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind: Report

A representative picture.The UK government has announced €100 million ($134 million) in funding for a new AI Biosecurity Lab, supported by OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, as part of broader measures to strengthen its ability to identify and address risks associated with artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported.The lab will use AI to detect and monitor biological threats and will receive up to €200 million in AI model credits from OpenAI and Anthropic, according to a government statement.The facility will also partner with Google DeepMind and life sciences company Basecamp Research.

Separately, the government has announced €65 million to develop countermeasures against pathogens."As AI becomes more powerful, Britain must have the capabilities to protect its people and shape its own future," said Kanishka Narayan, Britain's AI minister."That means staying ahead of emerging threats, from cyber attacks to biological risks, while building more of the critical technology our security depends on," he added.UK expands funding for AI safetyThe government also announced an additional €120 million for the AI Security Institute, which regularly evaluates advanced AI models and is the best-funded government agency focused on such assessments.Another €23 million will be allocated to the AI Economics Institute, which is being established to analyse the economic impact of artificial intelligence.The measures form part of the UK's approach to establishing institutions outside existing government departments to research, monitor and use different aspects of AI technology.According to Bloomberg, Britain is seeking to position itself as an 'honest broker' in AI monitoring and regulation despite trailing the US and China in developing cutting-edge AI models.The approach also differs from that of the European Union, which has adopted stronger regulation of the technology.Anthropic backs UK's biosecurity initiativeMatt Clifford, head of international affairs at Anthropic and a former AI adviser to the British prime minister, welcomed the announcement."AI is changing both the biological risks we face and the nature of biological discovery, and we applaud the UK government's foresight in opening the AI Biosecurity Lab," Clifford said.He added that combining frontier AI capabilities with Britain's scientific expertise and government resources could help identify biological threats earlier and accelerate the development of medical treatments.Narayan said the lab would bring together scientific expertise to address emerging biological threats and support Britain's position in AI safety and security.€130 million allocated to strengthen cyber defencesThe government also announced €130 million to deploy AI for identifying cybersecurity vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure and the wider economy.The funding is intended to improve the country's cyber defences and comes after governments and companies worldwide moved to address two critical vulnerabilities in widely used technology.Separately, the UK will provide an additional €120 million to the Sovereign AI Fund.The funding will expand the fund's remit to encompass physical and industrial AI applications, such as robotics, autonomous systems, and advanced manufacturing.It will also support the expansion of the fund's procurement programme for British start-ups.