LONDON — Britain is setting up a new lab that will use artificial intelligence to catch biological threats sooner and get vaccines and treatments developed faster. The government is putting £100 million into it. OpenAI and Anthropic are adding up to £200 million between them, mostly in credits to use their models.
The AI Biosecurity Lab, known as AIBL, will be the world’s first organisation devoted only to AI biosecurity, according to GOV.UK. It forms part of a National AI Biosecurity Initiative. Its first work will go to two things: spotting emerging threats earlier, and speeding up vaccines, treatments and other medical countermeasures.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the aim was for the lab to become a major global institution, “bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats,” according to Reuters.
OpenAI’s share is £100 million in compute and model credits, plus trusted access to its most capable relevant models through its Rosalind Biodefense programme. Anthropic will provide up to £100 million in model credits, trusted model access and dedicated technical support.
Two other partners are research collaborators rather than funders. Google DeepMind scientists and biosecurity experts will work with the lab and will look to provide trusted access to Gemini and specialised science models. Basecamp Research, a UK AI life sciences company, will give access to its AI-biology models and technical expertise.
The lab will run as an independent non-profit. A scientific advisory committee drawn from academia, industry and the third sector is planned, with details to come later. In government, it will work alongside the UK Health Security Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on preparing for health emergencies and on regulating AI-designed medicines. The government also intends the lab to draw in philanthropic funding over time.
The lab is the largest single piece of a wider package. Reuters reported that the government set out around £600 million, about $800 million, on Saturday, largely geared toward defending against health and security threats from AI. That includes £65 million to develop countermeasures against pathogens and an extra £120 million for the AI Security Institute.
Another £130 million will go to cyber defence projects for critical infrastructure and the wider economy, the National Cyber Shield and the National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability Centre. The package also sets aside £60 million for a fund investing in British companies working on robotics, autonomous systems and manufacturing, £60 million for AI research and procurement contracts, £23 million for research on the economic impact of AI, £18 million for a chip design academy, £15 million for a prize for AI solutions to public policy problems, initially in health care, and £30 million for regional mayors to support local AI work. The National Cyber Security Centre will also get an unspecified sum to expand in Manchester.
The GOV.UK announcement gave no site and no opening date for the new lab.
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