OpenAI signs deal with UK to find government uses for its models

Sam Altman, leader of one of the world's biggest artificial intelligence companies, has signed a deal with the British government to explore the deployment of advanced AI models in areas including justice, security and education. The chief executive of OpenAI, which has been valued at 300bn ( 220bn) and provides the ChatGPT suite of large language models, agreed the memorandum of understanding with the science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle, on Monday. It follows a similarly wide-ranging deal between the UK government and OpenAI's rival US tech company, Google, which campaigners called "dangerously naive", citing fears that the arrangement could leave the public sector dependent on private technology providers and make it harder for politicians to regulate them. The latest agreement states that OpenAI and the government "will collaborate to identify opportunities for how advanced AI models can be deployed throughout government", including "to help civil servants work more efficiently" and to support "citizens to navigate public services more effectively". It said they will collaborate to develop AI solutions "to the UK's hardest problems, including in areas such as justice, defence and security, and education technology" and develop partnerships "to expand public engagement with AI technology".