The Council for Science and Technology (CST) has urged the UK government to develop an AI sovereignty plan, warning that without urgent action the country risks becoming a high-value AI customer.
The advice appears in a letter to Kanishka Narayan MP, whom the Council congratulates on his appointment as Minister for Artificial Intelligence in July. The letter is signed by the Council’s co-chairs, Dame Angela McLean and Lord Browne of Madingley, and copied to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and several other senior officials.
CST describes itself as the government’s top-level independent advisory body on cross-cutting science and technology issues. It brings together leaders from academia, business, and finance to advise the Prime Minister and Cabinet on how science and technology can support the government’s ambitions.
The letter argues that the choices the UK makes now will shape long-term competitiveness, resilience, public trust, and strategic autonomy. CST defines AI sovereignty as “having sufficient agency across the AI value chain to deliver the UK’s chosen outcomes, capture economic and public value for the UK, and maintain resilience under duress.”
The Council says the government needs a clear view of where national capability matters, where dependence is acceptable, and where the UK has a credible opportunity to lead.
Dame Angela McLean and Lord Browne of Madingley, co-chairs at the Council for Science and Technology, said: “Without deliberate and urgent action, the UK risks becoming a high-value AI customer, rather than a country able to shape the technology and its usage.”
The letter adds that “skills, commercial value, and capability will accumulate where AI systems are developed and used.”
The letter also notes that the UK is well placed to benefit from its strong research base and trusted institutions. It says the country must decide which technologies to develop itself and which to access securely from other countries.
Each pilot must answer six questions, according to the letter:
The letter stresses that “AI sovereignty is a whole-system challenge” and that it “cannot be achieved by investing in technologies or projects in isolation.”
On data, it states that “Data is one of the UK’s most important assets, but is only valuable when it is managed, secured, and used effectively.” The Council also argues that “the foundations of AI sovereignty are not just models, but people, skills, organisations, data, trust and adoption.”
The letter does not include costs, funding commitments, or delivery timelines for the recommendations.
Readers interested in how export controls bear on AI sovereignty can consult our earlier report on export controls .
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