Advocating the need to build sovereign Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the United Kingdom (U.K), Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall hit out at protests against AI companies in the country, saying any pause on AI would be akin to betrayal of British Talent.
Kendall was speaking at an event hosted by Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the U.K. on Tuesday, where she acknowledged concerns related to AI automating jobs and recent protests against AI companies by activists.
“I know there are many people in this country who are deeply worried about the state of the world, including what AI will mean for their jobs and their children’s futures. We’ve already heard calls, including in Parliament, to ‘Pause AI’. I think doing so would be a double betrayal. A betrayal of British talent and British interests,” said Kendall.
On February 28, 2026, over a hundred protestors marched in London, outside the offices of OpenAI and Google Deepmind, demanding for a pause on frontier AI research, citing impact on humanity as a collateral in the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI) and superintelligence.
PauseAI UK, an organization dedicated to safe AI development, also submitted a written evidence to the UK parliament’s Select Committee suggesting amendments in the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
The Labour MP added that any attempts to put a “pause” on AI research would send a wrong message.
“It would send a message that Britain is closed to new ideas and new opportunities. That a country so rich in talent, innovation and enterprise has put an ‘out of office’ sign on its front door,” added Kendall.
The secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology also added that geopolitical rivalry is driving the tech boom and U.K. cannot afford to lose the race for AI dominance.
“Why has China poured billions into the semi-conductor industry? To catch up. Why does the US invest billions into drones and autonomous warfare? To stay ahead. When rival countries glimpse a new technology they rush to build it first, so they lay claim to the future.,” said Kendall.
She added that harnessing mere 5% of the global chip market could mean $50 billion in revenue to the U.K.
“The global AI chips market is growing at an annual rate of 30% and expected to reach one trillion dollars in the early 2030s. If Britain could secure just 5% of this market it would bring $50B in revenue with tens of thousands of high paid jobs in tech.
The statement by Kendall comes days after the U.K. government announced a £500 million Sovereign AI Fund aimed at backing homegrown AI founders to drive growth, scale fast and compete globally.
Also Read: UK Announces £500M Sovereign AI Fund for Homegrown Founders
