UK government partners with Meta to develop open-source AI tools for public services

The UK government, with funding from Meta, has launched a pioneering open-source AI fellowship programme to modernise public transport, safety, and security through transparent, adaptable technology developed by top British AI experts.

The British government has recruited a cohort of artificial intelligence specialists to develop open-source tools intended to modernise transport, public safety and defence over the next year, part of a wider push to embed AI in Whitehall to boost productivity and service delivery. According to the government announcement, the programme will place leading UK AI talent inside departments to design systems that can be run and adapted in-house rather than rely on closed commercial platforms. (Sources: ^[2],^[4])

Meta has provided funding for the initiative, making a $1 million grant to support the fellowship managed by the Alan Turing Institute, the government said. Industry accounts note the grant is intended to speed deployment of public sector AI and to attract top researchers into government workstreams. (Sources: ^[3],^[4])

Participants will take part in a 12-month Open-Source AI Fellowship during which they will prototype tools for maintaining roads and transport networks, enhancing public-safety capabilities and supporting national security decision-making. The scheme is described as one strand of the government’s broader digital transformation agenda. (Sources: ^[4],^[2])

Technically, the programme emphasises open models and interoperable tooling. Meta has previously signalled that participants will be able to build with open-source large language models such as Llama and retain ownership of the resulting artefacts so that departments can keep sensitive data on premises and modify systems to meet operational needs. The move reflects a deliberate preference for transparent, adaptable stacks rather than proprietary, closed-source solutions. (Sources: ^[1],^[3],^[5])

The fellowship cohort includes academics and practitioners drawn from institutions such as the Alan Turing Institute and UK universities, bringing expertise in computer vision, applied machine learning for the public sector, robotics-driven imaging and safety-critical AI design. The government says the placements are intended to create tools that public bodies can operate without long-term dependence on commercial vendors. (Sources: ^[1],^[4])

Officials frame the effort as complementary to parallel capacity-building measures in Whitehall, including a 12-week AI Accelerator bootcamp to convert data scientists into AI specialists and exploratory work on AI agents to help citizens with forms, applications and access to services. Meta and government commentary point to potential productivity gains from these initiatives, with industry estimates cited by stakeholders suggesting very large, though aspirational, efficiency benefits for the public sector. (Sources: ^[6],^[7],^[3])

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Source:Fuse Wire Services