UK and OpenAI discussed ChatGPT for the entire population

The UK Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and OpenAI Co-Founder Sam Altman discussed a £2 billion (approximately 2.3 billion euros) deal to provide the entire United Kingdom’s population (69.6 million euros) with premium access to ChatGPT, according to an exclusive by the Guardian.

The British news outlet published an article this Sunday, August 24, revealing that Kyle and Altman met in San Francisco earlier this year to discuss the integration of OpenAI’s artificial tools into the UK government’s public services. Although the idea of providing everyone in the United Kingdom with access to ChatGPT premium was floated, it was never really taken seriously.  “But the talks show the enthusiasm with which the technology secretary has embraced the artificial intelligence sector, despite concerns over the accuracy of some chatbot responses and implications for privacy and copyright,” the Guardian wrote.

However, from their meetings in March and April, Kyle and Altman signed a non-binding deal that could give OpenAI access to government data and lead to its software being used in education, defence, security and the justice system. The UK is one of OpenAI’s top five markets for paid ChatGPT subscriptions, the Guardian said. “Millions of Brits are already using ChatGPT every day for free,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. “In July, we signed an MoU [a memorandum of understanding] with the government to explore how we can best support the growth of AI in the UK, for the UK.”

All ministers should embrace AI

In March, Kyle told PoliticsHome that all ministers in the UK should embrace ChatGPT. And in a previous interview with the same news outlet, he said, “ChatGPT is fantastically good, and where there are things that you really struggle to understand in depth, ChatGPT can be a very good tutor for it.”

HomePolitics said their research revealed that up to £1 billion (approximately 1.15 billion euros) a year and 40 per cent of civil servant time could be saved by the Department for Work and Pensions by properly deploying AI.

“In line with the government’s vision of using this technology to unlock economic opportunity for everyday people, our shared goal is to democratise access to AI. The more people who can use it, the more widely its benefits will spread,” the OpenAI spokesperson said.

Enabling ChatGPT nationwide

OpenAI has recently been in meetings with several governments and has signed deals with the United Arab Emirates to “enable ChatGPT nationwide” and use the technology in public sectors, including transport, healthcare and education.

The UK government has been keen to attract AI investment from the US, having struck deals with OpenAI’s rivals Google and Anthropic earlier this year. “I want us to be at the very forefront of AI because those countries will get to shape how it goes, how it is used and deployed,” Kyle said. The Guardian concluded its exclusive article, quoting the science and technology department as saying they had not taken forward any proposal to give UK residents access to ChatGPT Plus or discussed it with other departments.