Meta funds $1 million search for AI talent to boost UK government

The government has announced a new $1 million programme will bring the UK’s top AI experts into government to build AI tools for the public sector.

The Open-Source AI Fellowship has been funded by a grant from Meta to the Alan Turing Institute, with fellows set to join DSIT’s Incubator for AI.

The Incubator for AI team is behind ‘Humphrey’; a bundle of AI tools that help civil servants deliver on the requests of ministers more quickly by taking away the admin burdens involved in taking notes and summarising consultation responses and documents.

The government said applications could include high-security use cases across such as language translation in a national security context, and making use of construction planning data to speed up the approvals process.

The fellowships will begin in January 2026 and will last for 12 months during which all use cases will be developed, announced, and open-sourced for wider public use.

The experts will be focused on using open-source AI models, which the government contends could reduce costs to the taxpayer and help unlock up to £45 billion in productivity gains across the public sector.

AI ‘built for public good’

The announcement follows the Prime Minister setting out that he is “determined to seize” the opportunity of AI to transform the state, making clear that no one in government should be doing something AI can be better and cheaper.

“This Fellowship is the best of AI in action – open, practical, and built for public good. It’s about delivery, not just ideas – creating real tools that help government work better for people,” said technology secretary Peter Kyle.

Kyle used the example of Caddy, an AI assistant that helps call centre workers, which has been open sourced, meaning call centres across the world could benefit from the tech. Developed with Citizens Advice, Caddy now helps Cabinet Office teams to quickly access expert guidance on grant decisions, “improving speed, consistency, and value for money.”

“The Fellowship will help scale that kind of impact across government, and develop sovereign capabilities where the UK must lead, like national security and critical infrastructure,” said Kyle.

AI Knowledge Hub

The government is also launching the next phase of the AI Knowledge Hub – a growing platform that shares real examples, tools, and tips to help teams use AI in the right way.

The Hub is designed to help departments learn from each other, avoid duplication, and move from small pilots to real results.

As part of its next phase, new features will be added including a Prompt Library to help teams use AI to boost productivity and deliver faster, better services.