UK must learn lessons from AI race and retain its quantum computing talent, says minister
The UK will not let quantum computing talent slip through its fingers and must learn lessons from US dominance of the AI race, the technology secretary has said, as the government announced a £1bn quantum funding pledge.Liz Kendall said the government hoped to retain homegrown quantum startups, engineers and researchers rather than lose them to competing countries, with the US stealing a march on its western rivals in AI.“I do look at what’s happened on AI,” said Kendall.“I do think we need to learn the lessons and make sure we give our brilliant scientists, spinouts and startups the ability to stay here and make it happen.And that requires a government that is bold and ambitious and confident in these technologies of the future.
”She added: “Too many people feel they have to move to the US in order to get the funding and support they need to grow and scale their company.”DeepMind, a groundbreaking AI firm co-founded by Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis, is still based in London but was bought by Google in 2014 for £400m, while major Silicon Valley names such as Meta have been offering vast sums to elite-level talent.The UK remains a major producer of AI talent but some of its biggest AI operations are bases for US companies such as ChatGPT developer OpenAI, Anthropic and Palantir.Speaking to the Guardian at the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) outside Oxford, Kendall said the government did not want to take a “back seat” on quantum.The UK has produced a number of quantum startups including Quantinuum, a US-UK firm that recently achieved a $10bn (£7.
5bn) valuation,“I want to be at the front of the grid and leading,” she said,Kendall attended the NQCC with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as part of a funding announcement for quantum computing, which uses principles of quantum physics to process information,The government, in a policy driven by science minister Patrick Vallance, is providing £1bn to help companies design large-scale quantum computers for use by scientists, researchers, the public sector and businesses,A further £1bn, already announced, will support companies and researchers in putting quantum into action in fields such as finance, pharmaceuticals and energy.
Kendall said the UK wanted the money, jobs and security that would come with building a domestic cutting-edge quantum computer by the beginning of the next decade,Last year Google announced it had developed an algorithm enabling a quantum computer to operate 13,000 times faster than a classical computer,However, fully fault-tolerant quantum computers, capable of realising some of the tasks that augur major scientific breakthroughs, are still some way off as they would require machines capable of hosting hundreds of thousands of quantum bits – the term for a unit of information in a quantum computer,Classical computers encode their information in bits – represented as 0 or 1 – which are transmitted as an electrical pulse,A text message, email or even a Netflix film streamed on a smartphone is a string of these bits.
In quantum computers, however, the information is contained in qubits.These qubits, encased in a modestly sized chip, are particles such as electrons or photons that can be in several states at the same time, a property of quantum physics known as superposition.This means qubits can encode various combinations of 1s and 0s at the same time, and compute their way through vast numbers of different outcomes, which is not possible with classical computers.However, they have to be kept in a highly controlled environment, such as one free from electromagnetic interference, or else they can be easily disrupted.Nonetheless, quantum computers could in theory help design new chemicals, drugs and alloys.
Quantum computing could result in a much more efficient representation of chemical compounds, for instance, allowing accurate prediction of what a complex molecule might do and paving the way for new drugs and materials.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods:The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs.This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu.Select ‘Secure Messaging’.Our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.
Joy of chess keeps dark times in check | Brief letters
Flicking through the paper, I remarked that it was all bad news and upsetting items. Then I came across the centrefold photograph taken in Erzurum, Turkey and found myself close to tears. Young and old chess players together in a coffee house. What a great picture.Carol TaylorDarley Dale, Derbyshire Regarding unusual measurements (Letters, 15 March) my Scottish mother used to send me to the local Co-op to purchase a forpit of potatoes: a fourth part of a stone, ie three and a half pounds
Broncos reportedly send first-round pick to Dolphins in return for receiver Waddle
The Denver Broncos have reportedly traded for Miami Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle, a move that would add offensive firepower to a team that fell one win short of the Super Bowl last season.ESPN reports that the Broncos will send first-, third- and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft to the Dolphins in return for Waddle. The Broncos will also receive Miami’s fourth-round pick as part of the deal. If the deal is confirmed, the Dolphins will own the 11th and 30th picks in the first round of this year’s draft as they attempt to build around newly acquired quarterback Malik Willis.The Dolphins selected Waddle with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, reuniting him with his college quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was released by the Dolphins earlier this month
‘That’s why we wear USA’: US players embrace military ties before WBC final against Venezuela
The US will play Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, a meeting that comes after recent tensions between the two countries.In January, Donald Trump ordered a military operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Since then, the US has launched a war against Iran, during which the American players have paid tribute to their country’s military. Players have saluted each other after victories and the team invited Robert J O’Neill, a former navy Seal who claims he killed Osama bin Laden, to give a locker room speech. Two of the team’s pitchers, Paul Skenes and Griffin Jax, played at the Air Force Academy and have spoken of the importance of honoring the military
The Breakdown | From Ramos to Carré: selecting the best XV of the 2026 Six Nations
The champions France lead with five players but every side is represented in pick from a tournament to savour15. Thomas Ramos FrancePlays like the lovechild of Mike Brown and Thomas Castaignède with Jonny Wilkinson levels of marksmanship thrown in. There was never any doubt he would nail that decisive final winning penalty in Paris, just as he did against England in Lyon two years ago. The 30-year-old is the first player to be the top points-scorer in four successive championships and now tops France’s all-time list.14
‘Everyone in Nashville is a Vandy fan’: how Shea Ralph sparked a women’s basketball revival in Music City
Shea Ralph’s decision to storm the court during the fourth quarter of Vanderbilt’s quarter-final against Ole Miss last Friday at the SEC Tournament wasn’t premeditated. Ralph, who up to that moment had never been thrown out of a game in her lengthy career, just did what she thought was right in arguing a questionable foul call.“I wasn’t trying to get kicked out,” Ralph told reporters after the game. “I know where I was on the court. But I also think that at that time what I said was warranted, and the action I took was warranted
‘I was struggling to feel my hands’: Aston Martin’s problems laid bare by Alonso’s woe in China | Giles Richards
The next round of the Formula One world championship in Japan will be the home race for the Aston Martin team’s engine manufacturer, Honda, at the Suzuka circuit. A celebratory affair, however, is not expected amid painful days for Honda, whose return to F1 has been marked by a failure to make the grade.Its engine’s shortcomings were exposed for the second successive race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Fernando Alonso retired after 32 laps because the vibration from the engine was so severe he was losing feeling in his hands and feet. Hit teammate Lance Stroll had retired after 10 laps with a battery problem, an element of the hybrid engine that has plagued the manufacturer from day one
US postal service will run out of money by February 2027, says agency chief
Reeves plans to give England’s regional leaders a share of national tax revenues
Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May
Subnautica 2 publisher’s CEO used ChatGPT in failed bid to avoid paying US$250m bonus to own studio head, court hears
Venezuela 3-2 United States: World Baseball Classic final – as it happened
Venezuela win first World Baseball Classic title after taming USA in politically fraught final