LONDON, ENGLAND - In November 2020, the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) named its first five Turing Artificial Intelligence World-Leading Researcher Fellows as part of a ￡46 million (US$63 million) initiative by the UK government to attract and maintain the best talent in the artificial intelligence (AI) field. 

The Turing Fellows have been selected to tackle challenges including ‘decision-making in personalized medicine’ and ‘synthetic biology and drug design.’ The Turing AI Fellowships are delivered through UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, in partnership with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Office for Artificial Intelligence (part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy), and the Alan Turing Institute.

The UK launched its first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in September 2021 “to help strengthen its position as a global science superpower and seize the potential of modern technology to improve people’s lives and solve global challenges such as climate change and public health.” The strategy rests on three pillars: 

1. Investing in the long-term needs of the AI ecosystem

2. Ensuring AI benefits all sectors and regions

3. Governing AI effectively 

Plans are afoot to launch a new national program and approach to support research and development and publish a white paper on the governance and regulation of AI to build confidence in its use, with moves to support organizations in every region and sector in capitalizing on the power of AI technologies. The strategy follows government investment of more than ￡2.3 billion (US$3.2 billion) into AI