Blair calls for UK to create new ‘global talent AI visa’

The UK should introduce a global AI talent visa to help it attract top researchers and engineers while its key funding bodies should be reformed to focus more on new technologies, according to a new report endorsed by former prime minister Tony Blair.

Blair and the former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, recommend urgent changes to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and other scientific institutions to ensure the country capitalises on the “historic opportunity” of AI.

The report, published by the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), warns that the UK faces fierce global competition for talent, particularly from higher salaries and more flexible career pathways in the US, and that its immigration system is a “formidable barrier”.

It urges the government to establish a dedicated AI talent visa, which would be exempt from the immigration health surcharge and allow recipients to change roles, create spin-outs and move between academia and industry.

Jakob Mökander, director of science and technology policy at TBI, said the UK could not afford to view AI talent policy as an “immigration control issue” and lose talent to countries that view it as a strategic priority.

“The UK will lose these individuals to other countries if the financial barriers to entry are not lowered,” he said.

“The government’s mission to grow the economy must be underpinned by policies that welcome the world’s best researchers and engineers.”

As the national agency for directing science research funding, UKRI will have “critical” responsibility to drive the transition of the UK’s research ecosystem into the AI era, but it needs urgent reform to do so, according to the report.

It recommends streamlining approval processes, evolving its position on AI to encourage experimentation, and bringing in more technical expertise.

The institute said the imminent appointment of a new UKRI chief executive represented a “turning point” for the organisation, and that it must adopt a new, central AI function, which would drive forward the adoption of AI in the UK’s research ecosystem.

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In their foreword to the report, Blair and Hague urge the UK to act decisively to overcome the barriers it faces – including patchy adoption of AI in the research community and fragmented funding.

“Harnessing AI in research is not just a scientific opportunity: it is an economic and strategic imperative,” they write.

“AI-enhanced R&D can accelerate solutions to major societal challenges, from climate resilience to medical breakthroughs, while also driving productivity and growth in key industries.”

The report also calls for increased AI training for researchers and for a new entity to oversee the creation of “disruptive invention labs” outside academia, similar to Google DeepMind.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com