Intelligence Squared Can Britain Become an AI Superpower? The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook (Part Two)
11 snips
Jan 26, 2026 
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor at The Times, and Greg Williams, Editor of Wired, discuss Britain’s AI future. They debate energy and data-centre hurdles, startup scaling and late-stage capital, talent flows versus brain drain, and whether AI hype masks a bubble. Short, sharp takes on regulation, community pushback and which UK firms to watch.
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Energy Is A Core Limitation
- Energy constraints tightly limit where large AI data centers can be built and scale economically.
- Greg Williams warns achieving claimed AI growth will require vast new power infrastructure that is hard and costly to deploy.
Incentivize Communities For Data Centers
- Reward local communities or guarantee benefits when siting data centers to reduce nimbyism and local resistance.
- Use incentives like stable energy pricing or job guarantees to make data centers politically feasible.
Public Versus Private Valuations Matter
- Distinguish between public companies and opaque private AI firms when assessing market risk.
- Katie Prescott and Greg Williams note private valuations (OpenAI, Anthropic) may hide circular deals and unknown finances.