LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The United Kingdom and Ukraine have signed a landmark AI deal as the two countries join forces to develop new military capabilities and the technology of the future.
Bringing together Britain's world-leading AI ecosystem with Ukraine's operational experience, engineering talent and technological innovation, the new deal will enable access to Ukraine's coveted Avengers AI Labs database.
The deal was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Ukraine on Monday, which marked Ukraine's Independence Day.
The platform provides real world data and insights to train AI models, collected by thousands of daylight cameras and infrared sensors across the battlefield in Ukraine.
Those sensors and cameras capture millions of objects, such as tanks, artillery, air defence systems, infantry, and aerial targets, including Shahed drones and reconnaissance UAVs, feeding back data to the Avengers Lab to train new AI models.
With potential to revolutionise all parts of public life, from air traffic control to train systems, the deal will first focus on defence and national security - bringing together engineers, academics, businesses and military operational expertise from both countries to act as an AI cell to solve key national security challenges for both countries.
The partnership will also see the UK and Ukraine explore further platforms to collaborate on.
A goldmine of battlefield data, Avengers AI Labs will give British innovators and researchers unparalleled access to real-world operational insights and the opportunity to 'plug and play'.
In return, the UK will back Ukraine with world-leading universities, researchers, technology companies and third largest AI eco-system in the world, allowing Ukraine to draw on British expertise to accelerate the development of solutions to urgent challenges, whilst transforming hard-earned operational experience and unique datasets into technologies with long-term benefits for both countries.
As part of the agreement, several pilot projects have been rolled out with three British startups including Bristol's Sintela, Oxford's Mind Foundry and London's Skyral.
The first of the trial technology is about to be rolled out at a UK defence site to protect bases from protestors and hostile actors trying to gain intelligence.
The second project will see the UK and Ukraine explore the development of next-generation low-power AI chips designed to power future drones, robotics and autonomous systems.
Burnham said, 'This groundbreaking partnership will bring together Ukraine's unrivalled operational experience with Britain's world-class AI ecosystem, giving us the opportunity to develop the technologies of the future, changing lives here in Britain and saving lives on the battlefield in Ukraine'.
Burnham, who arrived in Kyiv on Monday for his first overseas visit as UK Prime Minister, also announced that UK defense firm MBDA will share classified information on UK components for Ukraine to build its own long-range missiles, as Ukraine and France look to establish local assembly lines in Ukraine.
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