Starmer says his government is determined for the UK to become the best place to start and scale an artificial intelligence business.

The prime minister says there's never been a better moment for entrepreneurs with ideas and the government will be creating AI growth zones, which will give a boost to sites in Oxfordshire among other places.

He says planning processes will also be supported for those working in AI growth zones, meaning that data centres can be built with fewer hurdles.

"We're going to make AI work for everyone in our country," the PM tells the audience at UCL in London.

He notes the UK is the country that "gave birth to the world wide web" - for younger readers by this he means the early internet.

We will be "one of the world's AI superpowers", Starmer says.

He adds that Britain is number one country in Europe for AI investment, adding the government has "already attracted more than £25bn" in just the time since they took office in the summer.

After acknowledging the fears about safety, Starmer pushes for an optimistic approach to new technology.

But, he says that the government has a responsibility to make AI work for working people, with so much investment at stake.

To this end, he asks whether Britain will be an "AI maker or AI taker", adding that entrepreneurs and investors are choosing which countries to make their homes right now.

"The battle for the jobs of tomorrow is happening today," he says.

Starmer turns now to public services and says in a way there is an "irony" to AI in that it will make public services "more human" and reconnect staff with the reasons they came to public service in the first place.

He calls the technology the "defining opportunity" for our generation but caveats that he understands fears behind the scale and speed of development.

He promises: "We will make sure this technology is safe" - adding that the government will build on the previous administration's move to establish an AI safety institute.

Addressing the question of what AI might mean to people's everyday lives, Starmer says that the technology is "a force for change that will transform the lives of working people for better".

He says it will help in all sectors of society, from spotting potholes more speedily, to helping the health service manage waiting lists and support schools and teachers in the education realm.

Starmer says AI isn't "something of the future", rather "it's the present, it's already here in Britain, changing lives".

The PM adds it's a chance to "turbocharge growth" and "create the companies of the future and radically improve our public services".

Keir Starmer begins by telling a story about a woman - called Deb - who collapsed of a stroke one day. He relates how doctors used artificial intelligence "in a race against the clock" to find and remove her blood clot quickly.

This technology, he says, "saved her life" and the prime minister tells the room that she thanked AI again this morning when he spoke to her.

"That's the power of AI in action", he says.

Marc Cieslak
AI correspondent, reporting from the speech

After several warm-up speakers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer steps up to the podium.

Just before that, we heard from Matt Clifford, the author of the government's AI plan.

He says the winners in AI will be those who embrace these technologies - and that AI is one of the biggest levers to transform public services.

As the PM takes to the stage, we'll bring you the key lines here - or you can watch for yourself at the top of the page.

While we wait to hear from the prime minister, the government has published the action plan online - you can read it in full., external

Their response to the 50 recommendations, external, which no doubt Keir Starmer will lay out when his speech begins, is also available.

Tom Gerken
Technology reporter

The government’s new AI proposals are the "first step" towards growth in the UK, a think tank has said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says AI could lead to economic gains worth up to more than £300bn annually.

However, the centre-left think tank previously said without big policy changes, eight million UK jobs could be at risk from AI.

Carsten Jung, head of AI at IPPR, said the government has "fired the starting gun" on AI.

"AI should help solve big social challenges such as poor health and the energy transition," he says.

"Today's announcement to invest big in public and private AI infrastructure will be crucial to achieve this."

But it’s worth remembering the government has yet to release its plans in full.

Marc Cieslak
AI correspondent, reporting from the speech

It's standing room only here as we wait for the prime minister - he's due up in the next few minutes.

Marc Cieslak
AI correspondent, reporting from the speech

Good morning from the venue, where Starmer is due to speak any moment.

Ironically, the Wifi connection is almost non-existent here.

Launching a bold new AI strategy and experiencing poor internet connectivity at the venue mean the next few hours are going to be interesting - but I'll be dissecting the PM's plans throughout his speech.

Poor Wifi aside, I've already bumped into a couple of notable UK or UK-based AI company chiefs, who say they've been advised on specific elements of the government's action plan.

All see these moves as positive. They're in the AI space though, so it's perhaps to be expected.

Liv McMahon
Technology reporter

We've been seeing a lot of reaction from across the UK tech sector this morning – with much of it welcoming the government’s plans.

Adam Leon Smith, a Fellow of The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS), called it a "statement of belief in the UK’s tech sector".

"We will need, at least, tens of thousands more people to become skilled AI professionals to transform the nation in the way this report envisages," he says.

"We'll achieve this by investing not just in university students, but by re-training the over 50s, and winning over more of the half a million women who are missing from the tech industry."

Meanwhile Professor Dame Wendy Hall, speaking on the Today programme, says the UK already bats above its weight in the AI sector.

But some have said there needs to be a broader focus on improving a range of skills, not just technical ones.

UKAI – a trade body representing AI businesses across the UK – believes there should be greater emphasis on maths and analytical skills in primary and secondary school curriculums to help make firms more skilled and productive.

Put simply, AI allows computers to learn and solve problems similar to how a human being might.

AI systems - like ChatGPT or OpenAI - are trained by collecting huge amounts of information, before learning the patterns in it.

This enables artificial intelligence to carry out tasks such as having a human-like conversation (for instance an insurance company chatbot) or predicting a product an online shopper might buy to choose which adverts pop up.

The technology is also used by voice-controlled virtual assistants that you might have in your home - Alexa's answer to what the weather is like today will be informed by AI.

Also increasingly common are "generative" AI systems - for example videos or images on social media that have been created by AI look shockingly close to reality but can sometimes generate inaccurate answers or images.

• What is AI, how does it work and what can it be used for?

Tom Gerken
Technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

One of the most surprising parts of today’s announcement might have oddly slipped under the radar - a plan to invest in a UK supercomputer.

Only a few months ago, the Labour government shelved plans from its predecessor to spend £800m creating a supercomputer at Edinburgh University.

Those original proposals were to build a machine 50 times faster than any current computers in the UK.

But the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology told the BBC it will now invest in a different kind of supercomputer altogether.

It says the new machine will be powerful enough “to play itself at chess half a million times a second”, and will help the country’s computing capacity increase “by twentyfold” by 2030.

We've approached the University of Edinburgh for comment.

Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor, BBC News

“Finally!” is one WhatsApp I received from a contact in the UK AI sector in response to the government’s new plan.

“They’ve listened!” was another.

The government is throwing significant firepower behind a sector which today is feeling pretty jubilant. The words growth, innovation and opportunity feature strongly in the new plan - replacing the previous narrative of caution, safety and existential threats.

They haven’t gone away, of course. But rather than concede that we can’t compete in the AI arms race alongside the usual suspects - notably the US and China - the UK has decided to funnel money and resources at creating an infrastructure that at least enables us to try.

In the last 14 months I’ve lost count of the number of AI pledges, commitments, declarations, draft bills and various other documents that have come my way.

What’s different about this plan is that it's decisive, it is full of practical detail and it is coming from the very top of government.

But it’s difficult to put a timeframe on it - building data centres and increasing the nation’s computing power twentyfold, can’t happen overnight.

We will probably not see the fruits of it before the next general election - when the government will have to convince voters that it was still the right decision, at a time when public finances remain stretched.

The government has already given some details of what it's planning to do - and we're hoping to hear more about them later:

• Several "AI growth zones" around the UK will be created, to build AI infrastructure like data centres - with the first of these in Culham, Oxfordshire
• The UK will also build a new supercomputer to boost the UK's computing power twentyfold by 2030. This is despite the government previously ditching plans for a supercomputer in Edinburgh that was announced by the Conservatives when they were in power
• AI will be used by the public sector to enable its workers to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering services - and the PM is writing to all his ministers asking them to adopt AI more in their sectors
• Some examples were given of how AI could be used - for example to inspect roads and spot potholes around the country, and forteachers and small business owners to speed up planning and record-keeping
• AI is already being used in UK hospitals for tasks such as diagnosing cancer more quickly and it will continue to be used to support the NHS, the government says

Image source, Getty Images

Keir Starmer says his new AI Opportunities Action Plan will “make Britain the world leader” in the industry and "has the potential to transform the lives of working people".

It follows the government tasking AI adviser Matt Clifford with creating a UK action plan for artificial intelligence last summer - Clifford made 50 recommendations, all of which will be taken forward in today’s plan.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle tells the BBC he wants AI to benefit “everyone from every background”. It includes a range of suggestions - which we'll get into more next.

The push towards AI is seen as way of cutting down on public spending. But shadow science secretary Alan Mak says the government is "delivering analogue government in a digital age".

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is today setting out plans to use AI more in the UK, in a bid to boost economic growth and make public services more efficient.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan includes investment from leading tech firms, the government says, which will create more than 13,000 jobs.

Starmer's due to make a speech shortly in London which we'll be covering live - and you can also watch along by clicking watch live above.