TL;DR
Llion Jones, co-author of the 2017 Transformer paper underpinning ChatGPT, urges the UK to avoid competing with American and Chinese “hyper-scalers” in AI development. The Sakana AI chief technology officer recommends Britain create environments supporting differentiated speculative research, warning current AI chatbots’ “sycophantic” responses need fixing. Infrastructure challenges including mid-Wales power grid capacity threaten UK competitiveness in attracting data centres and research facilities.
Strategic Repositioning for UK AI Development
The computer scientist who helped revolutionise artificial intelligence’s human-like response capabilities warns the UK against attempting to match US and China scaling efforts. Llion Jones, raised in Bangor and Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd, co-authored the 2017 paper “Attention Is All You Need”, introducing the Transformer architecture that powers current generative AI systems.
Now chief technology officer of Sakana AI—founded with another former Google researcher—Jones focuses on speculative research into future AI applications. He claims this approach is “unique” whilst big tech firms concentrate on monetising current large language models. Speaking from Tokyo, he told BBC Wales: “I think a country like Wales, or even Britain in general, is not going to beat the hyper-scalers. It doesn’t make any sense to be a part of that race, because you’re not going to win.”
Differentiated Research and Infrastructure Requirements
Jones advocates Wales and Britain create environments where companies and academic institutions access resources and freedom to pursue differentiated research. “It’s a bit of a longer bet, but if it pays off then you’re back in the race,” he explained. This approach requires bravery in accepting different development paths rather than attempting direct competition.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle notes AI’s transformative economic impact potential, citing 1% small business productivity increases generating £240 billion economic activity. Welsh government’s AI Plan promises using artificial intelligence to drive economic growth and enhance public services, with AI growth zones announced in north and south Wales.
However, infrastructure gaps threaten implementation. Stuart George, chief executive of Green GEN Cymru building electricity pylons, warns mid-Wales is “chronically under-served by modern grid infrastructure”. Despite fierce local opposition to pylon expansion, he argues reliable electricity grids are essential for attracting data centres and research facilities required to support AI development.
Looking Forward
Jones identifies critical flaws in current AI chatbots, describing them as “very sycophantic” due to training encouraging human-pleasing responses. “Unfortunately, humans love being told that they’re right,” he notes. “We need to make AIs that can actually disagree with you, and actually correct you.” This challenge—alongside infrastructure investment and research environment creation—defines the UK’s differentiated path in global AI competition, requiring political courage to make difficult decisions quickly rather than pursuing unwinnable scaling races.
Source: BBC News