Liz Kendall, the UK's Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology, is a strong proponent of driverless car technology, warning that a failure to support domestic startups could cede the market to foreign giants. Kendall specifically praised London-based Wayve, an autonomous vehicle technology firm, as a "brilliant British success story." This stance comes amid concerns from a likely future government's advisory team about potential job losses from AI and autonomous systems, a view Kendall counters by emphasizing the government's commitment to managing societal impacts and supporting workers through transitions.

Kendall believes the UK is the third global player in AI outside the US and China and stresses the need to capitalize on this position. She highlighted the government's £500 million Sovereign AI unit as a significant achievement, funding ventures like Ineffable Intelligence and Isomorphic Labs. A further £1.1 billion plan supports AI hardware and chip technology, building on Britain's history in AI hardware with companies like Arm.

The minister expressed a desire to remain in her role, emphasizing her passion for the job. She indicated potential UK participation in the €5 billion EU Scaleup Fund and stressed the need for increased government procurement from British tech firms and greater capital commitment from UK pension funds to domestic companies. Kendall sees the next 24 months as critical for Britain to seize and shape AI opportunities rather than be dictated by them.