No 10 suggests UK still EU member in tweet gaffe

Downing Street has had to correct a tweet, after it suggested the UK is still a member of the European Union.

In a post on X, the new name for Twitter, the official No 10 account used a graphic saying the UK “is home to twice as many AI companies as any other EU country”.

It was deleted and a new graphic, saying “any EU country” instead, was reposted 45 minutes later.

The UK left the trading bloc in January 2020, after the 2016 referendum.

The post was promoting the government’s investment in artificial intelligence, including an announcement of £13m for use of the technology in healthcare such as surgical robotics.

The thread also highlighted the appointment of experts Matt Clifford and Jonathan Black, tasked with leading the preparations for the first major international summit on the responsible use of AI, which the UK is set to host later this year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he wants the UK to lead efforts to ensure the benefits of AI are “harnessed for the good of humanity”.

He has pledged £1bn in funding over the next 10 years to help the UK become a global hub for AI, and founded a UK taskforce with a remit of maximising the benefits of the tech while keeping it safe.

But some experts have questioned the UK’s leadership credentials in the field.

Downing Street’s post pointed out that leading AI firm DeepMind was founded in the UK more than a decade ago, while OpenAI and Anthropic AI both opened their first international office here.

However, DeepMind was sold in 2014 to US giant Google and some experts have suggested it is easier for tech start-ups to grow in the US.

The term AI covers computer systems able to do tasks that would normally need human intelligence.

This includes chatbots able to understand questions and respond with human-like answers, and systems capable of recognising objects in pictures.