Google is interested in building more AI infrastructure in the UK but needs the “right conditions”, the company’s UK boss has said.
Debbie Weinstein, the technology company’s UK and Ireland managing director, said Google was “engaged actively” with the Government regarding future infrastructure and investments during a visit to the new AI Campus in north London.
The Prime Minister also attended the centre on Wednesday where he said he wanted the UK and London to be the “best place in the world to start and scale” an AI business.
The education facility in Somers Town was launched through a partnership between Google, Camden Council and Camden Learning and aims to inspire a new generation of AI talent through educating young people and teachers.
Speaking to reporters at the campus, Ms Weinstein said: “We hope to build more here and continue to invest here, we obviously have a huge new facility opening next year or so.
“We’d like to build more here, it is true.
“We need to have the right conditions for that, which is around sort of energy costs, access to clean energy, and some of the other infrastructure topics we’ve been pretty public about needing to happen here, but we’re engaged actively with the Government, and hope to be able to make more investments in the future.”
Ms Weinstein said it was important that AI was “regulated well” because of its power and that the Government had the “right approach” to issues related to the technology and safety in particular.
She added that the “challenge and opportunity” of the rapidly evolving technology is to “be bold about taking advantage of the opportunities”, including potential improvements to healthcare.
“So right now, I feel that I support regulation of AI in the areas around safety, and I think it’s important that we also get guardrails so that the opportunity can come forward as well,” she said.
