Imagine a nation where every citizen has a premium AI assistant in their pocket. This was the vision briefly entertained by the UK government in talks with OpenAI, a “what if” scenario that would have cost £2 billion to make a reality by providing ChatGPT Plus to the entire population.
This speculative but powerful idea, discussed between Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and OpenAI chief Sam Altman, would have transformed the UK into a living laboratory for a society-wide AI integration. It would have tested the true potential of generative AI to enhance daily life, work, and education on an unprecedented scale.
The potential benefits were vast: students could have a personal tutor, small businesses could have a powerful research assistant, and individuals could have help with everything from writing emails to planning projects. It was a vision of AI not as a niche technology, but as a ubiquitous public utility.
Though this grand experiment was shelved due to its colossal price tag, the vision it represents lingers. It fuels the ongoing debate about the role of government in ensuring equitable access to transformative technologies and stands as a powerful example of the bold, future-facing ideas being considered at the intersection of policy and AI.
