By Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday opened London's first Google-funded AI Campus which aims to help young people develop skills in the rapidly developing technology.
The centre, based in Camden, an area which Starmer represents in parliament and which is also home to Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s future offices in Kings Cross, has already started a two-year pilot project for local students.
An first cohort of 32 people aged 16-18 will have access to resources in AI and machine learning and receive mentoring and expertise from Google's AI company DeepMind, the tech giant said.
The students will tackle real-world projects connecting AI to fields such as health, social sciences and the arts at the campus, which has been established in partnership with the local authority, Google said.
Starmer said the launch was a "seismic moment" that would help students, many of whom were living in challenging circumstances, to see themselves as part of the AI future.
"It's in rooms like this that we're going to forge the future and inspire the next generation, because the possibilities of AI are quite incredible," he said.
Google's UK and Ireland managing director Debbie Weinstein announced 865,000 pounds ($1.10 million) of funding for an AI literacy programme across the UK.
The money will be used by charities Raspberry Pi Foundation and Parent Zone to help train teachers with an aim of reaching over 250,000 students by the end of 2026, she said.
"We believe that AI's enormous opportunities should be accessible to all and this groundbreaking initiative, by empowering the next generation to learn vital digital skills, will be key in supporting the UK to unlock AI's 400 billion-pound economic potential," she said.
($1 = 0.7891 pounds)